What if he fell for her?
by Shattered Heartless
Summary: In an reverse-crush alternate universe with no miraculous or kwamis, Marinette is the new girl at school. Adrien is suspicious of her, but everyone else accepts her. But Marinette has a painful secret that they don't know about. Update: Yes I am aware that there is another fic with a similar story line. Please stop commenting about plagiarism after reading only the first chapter.
1. Chapter 1:that first day

Marinette

"Marinette! Wake up! You're going to be late on your first day!" Marinette Dupain-Cheng groaned, not thrilled to be awakened or have to go to a new school where she didn't know anyone. But when the alternative was going back to Western Academy and Lila, she didn't have a choice.

"Okay, mom! I will be down soon!" She reluctantly got out of bed, getting dressed and gathering up her school supplies. She paused by her mirror, debating on her hairstyle. At her old school, people always pulled on her pigtails, but she always loved the style. Maybe it is time for a new look, she was going to a new school after all. She debated on a ponytail, braiding it, or putting it up in a bun. Finally, she settled to just let it hang loose.

Grabbing her school bag, she headed downstairs into the kitchen, kissing her mom on the cheek as she sat at the table to eat her breakfast. Sabine smiled at her daughter, "Are you excited honey?"

Marinette shrugged, "I don't know, mom. It's a new school and I won't know anyone." She glanced down at her food sadly, "How do we know if it will go better than my last school?"

Sabine hugged her daughter, love for her swelling as she promised, "It will be better than Western Academy, your father and I have scouted this school out and we believe it is the perfect school." She looked Marinette in eyes, concern on her face, "If you feel unwell or need help, you can call us anytime, or Dr. Césaire if you prefer. We told Otis that you are starting a new school today so he will be there to pick up your call. We also met with your teachers and explained what happened at Western Academy. They all agreed that it was horrible what happened there and will help you with whatever you need." Sabine kissed her daughter's forehead, reassuring her, "This new school will be a new beginning, I promise you."

Marinette hugged her, "Thanks, mom. That means a lot to me!" She quickly finished her breakfast, then hugged her mother again as she slung her bag on her back. "I am going now! Bye, mom! Love you!"

Sabine smiled, "Bye, dear, I love you too. And don't forget to say bye to your father in the bakery!" Marinette nodded, smiling as she descended the stairs.

Stopping inside the bakery, she hugged her father, who picked her up off the ground in a bear hug. "Papa!" she giggled, "Put me down!"

Tom laughed as he set her down, "Okay dear. And take these with you." He handed her a box of fresh macaroons. "Make sure you share these with your classmates."

"Thanks, Papa," Marinette grinned, taking the box. "I got to go, love you!"

Tom smiled at his daughter, "I love you too, sweetheart. And if anything goes wrong, Don't be afraid to call. I will come running."

Marinette gives him a hug, "I know papa. Bye!"

"Have a good day sweetheart!"

Alya

"Bye mom, bye dad!"

Otis poked his head out of the kitchen, "Bye dear, have a good day! Be sure to be friends with anyone new and make them feel welcome"

"I will!" Alya blew him a kiss and was out the door an instant.

As Alya left, Otis looked back at the open file next to his breakfast, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She had been visiting him for four months now. "Hopefully you can help her. New friends that are willing to support and care for her is what she needs most."

Outside, Alya hopped in the waiting car for her, Adrien and Nino already inside. "Hey boys," she greeted as she settled in next to Nino. The two have been dating for a year now, but Adrien didn't mind being the third wheel at this point. "Ready for the first new day of the year?"

Nino nodded as Adrien shrugged. He has never been particularly eager to go to public school, but due to his rough home life, he made do with it. Despite the risk of being swarmed by fangirls, hanging out with his friends beat listening to his parents argue over his future. To avoid being swarmed, he wore fake glasses and a variety of non-Gabriel clothes to his father's disdain. Surprisingly, no one recognized him except for close friends. Adrien had admitted he hated the clothes, but the only other ones he had were Gabriel which everyone in the city would recognize him in.

"I just hope no fangirls are in our class this year. I don't want to go through last year again." Nino and Alya cringed at the memory, a fangirl who tracked him down and tried to kiss him. She was promptly expelled and got a restraining order against her.

"I'm sure everything will be okay this year, bro. You gotta stay positive. We all share four classes out of five this year. It's gonna be baller."

Adrien grinned as Alya cringed at her boyfriend, "Don't ever so baller ever again or I swear I will break up with you."

Nino smirked at her, "No you won't because you love me!" He kissed her, causing Adrien to stick his tongue out at them, making a sick noise.

"If you two are going to be gross all year, no more free rides to school," he threatened. His friend laughed, knowing full well he will never do that.

Alya pursed her lips at him, "Maybe it's time we find you a match, then we can double date and call you gross."

Adrien snorted, "As if there is someone who loves me for my wonderful personality instead of my face." Nino smiled encouragingly as Alya narrowed her eyes, already scheming.

Marinette

The walk to school was a lot shorter than her old commute, so that was a win Marinette figured. As she walked up the front steps of Collège Françoise Dupont, she glanced around at everyone standing in groups, chatting like they were all friends. Not ready to approach new people just yet, she found her first class glancing around the room shyly. In the front row of the farther set of desks sat a blonde girl and redhead girl with glasses. Two rows behind them were the biggest boy she ever seen, wearing a black shirt with a white skull on it. Next to him sat a small cute girl, wearing a green 'save the environment shirt'. The two seemed to be in deep conversation with each other, smiling at each other like her parents usually did.

As Marinette stood by the door unsure what to do, the blonde girl, Chloe Bourgeois, noticed her and smirked. Fresh victim, no one around to guide her. She got up and walked over to Marinette, "Hi, are you new here?"

Marinette nodded shyly. "Yea-ess," she stuttered, clutching the box close to her chest.

Chloe offered a fake smile, an idea forming in her mind. "In that case, you have to sit here in the front," she pointed at Adrien's spot, "It's where the new kids sit so everyone knows who they are." Marinette nodded her thanks shyly and sat down without another word. Chloe turned away and smirked, Adrien was gonna flip when he saw someone sitting in his spot and it would be a wonderful show. Glancing up at Ivan and Mylene, Chloe assured herself the lovey-dovey couple wouldn't interfere with her fun.

Adrien arrived two minutes later, Nino at his side as Alya caught up with Alix who wanted her to do a story about the new exhibit her brother set up at the museum on Alya's blog. Adrien stopped speaking the moment he noticed someone sitting in his seat, a girl that seemed to be focused on some kind of sketchbook. "Excuse me, who do you think you are?" he snapped rudely. The girl stared at him, mouth opening and closing but no words coming out. Adrien glared at her, "Oh you are another fangirl, aren't you? Why can't you crazy people just stay away?"

Marinette felt herself tremble, struggling to say a word. "I, I, I."

"Get out of my spot," Adrien growled, completely out of patience. Marinette meekly got up and ran up the stairs, tripping and spilling her contents. Chloe laughed as the girl scrambled to pick up her stuff, still shaking with tears forming in her eyes. Today was supposed to be a new beginning, not the same as her old school.

As Adrien sat down in his seat, Nino slid into his spot next to him, eyeing his bro. "Dude, you need to chill. That was way too harsh." Nino glanced at the frightened girl, now sitting in the very back row of their section.

Adrien shrugged, "I don't care, she is just another fangirl. They are all the same."

"Dude, she did not seem like a fangirl," Nino insisted. Adrien stared at the board, not wanting to talk about the shy girl.

Alya walked in, taking the grumpy model and her glaring boyfriend. "Okay, I left you two alone for ten minutes and you already messed up. What happened?"

"A new girl was sitting in Adrien's spot so he snapped at her. Now she is hiding in the back row." Nino continued to glare at Adrien, who continued to ignore him. Alya sighed, as always, she was the one who had to pick up the pieces.

She left the boys to sort themselves out, she walked up the stairs and sat down next to the girl, remembering her father's advice to befriend anyone new at school. "Hi, I'm Alya. Sorry about Adrien, he may be brilliant, but his people skills need work."

When the girl turned to look at her, Alya saw the tears. She was going to kill Adrien. "I'm Marinette. I'm new, well I guess you already know that."

Alya gave her a warm smile, channeling the positive vibes her father taught her how to send. "It's okay, we all have first days sometimes. You just didn't know it was Adrien's seat."

Marinette sniffed and glanced at Adrien, "Who is he and what's his problem?"

Alya's eyes widen, "You don't know him?" Marinette shook her head, she clearly had no idea who Adrien was. So she definitely was not a fangirl, Alya figured. "He is just protective of his favorite spot, that's all. He always sits there in all our classes." Changing the subject, she asked the shy girl, "So what classes do you have?"

Marinette looked at her, tears no longer coming out if her eyes, Alya noted thankfully. "I have this class Literature. Next, I have Math, then lunch break. After I have Physics, Chemistry and Fashion History."

Alya grinned at her, "Sweet we share the first four classes together. What made you choose Fashion History?" she questioned curiously.

"I want to be a fashion designer," Marinette pulled out her sketchbook and showed Alya some sketches. "It as the only fashion-related course they offered so I signed up hoping to learn something about it."

Alya nodded, glancing at Adrien out of the corner of her eye as she studied the sketches. Adrien and Juleka also were taking that class, so she was going to have a little chat with the cranky model to make sure he stays in line. "These are amazing, do you ever make any of them?"

Marinette pointed at her bag and her clothes, stating shyly, "I designed and made these myself, though I am usually limited by my allowance for project budgets." Alya shook her head, a new sense of admiration for the shy new girl when she noticed the box with a bakery logo on it. Marinette noticed her looking at the box, "That's from my parents, they gave me macaroons to share with the class." Alya was really intent on tearing Adrien a new one, this girl was amazing and too sweet for this world, and he made her cry.

As she started to ask more when Ms. Bustier called the class to attention. "Good morning class and welcome back from your vacations. Before we begin, we have a new student with us. Please welcome Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She looked at the back where she saw the shy girl sitting with Alya.

Marinette started to slouch down in her seat as everyone in the class but Adrien turned to look at her, but she stood up when Alya gave her encouraging smile. Alya nudged the girl to stand up. "Um, hi-i-i everyone. I'm Marinette," she stammered as she stood there, looking like a deer caught in the headlights of oncoming traffic.

Alya noticed her and stood up, picking up the box of bakery treats Marinette had brought. "She brought macaroons from her parents' bakery to share with all of us."

Ms. Bustier gave Marinette a warm smile, "What a wonderful idea, Marinette. You can hand them out and then we will start class. Marinette, with some encouragement from Alya, slowing walked down, passing macaroons to the rest of the class. Everyone thanked her with an eager smile, recognizing the logo on the box as the best bakery in Paris. When she reached Chloe, the blonde stuck her nose in the air, refusing the treat. The redhead next to her also refused, imitating Chloe.

She turned around to Adrien and Nino. Adrien continued to stare at the board until Nino elbowed him hard in the ribs. Reluctantly, Adrien took one as he glared at Nino while rubbing his sore ribs. Instead of eating it though, he set it on the edge of his desk. Nino took one, giving Marinette an apologetic smile. Finally, she gave one to Ms. Bustier, who thanked and dismissed her to her seat.

After Marinette settled down next Alya, Ms. Bustier began the class. Alya watched Marinette closely, noting that she was intent of paying attention to the lesson, not glancing once at Adrien. When she glanced down at Adrien, she caught him inspecting the macaroon as if it were dangerous. To her surprise, he then took a bite. Maybe he won't be so hopeless.

Lunchtime

Alya eagerly led Marinette to the girl's table, the young designer unable to resist the blogger's excitement. "Hey girls! This is Marinette, the new girl!" The girls, who Marinette learned to be Rose, Juleka, Alix, and Mylene, eagerly greeted and welcomed her to sit with them.

"Sorry I didn't warn you about Chloe," Mylene apologized, "I should have paid more attention."

Marinette gave her a shy smile, "It's okay, it wasn't your fault." She glanced at Adrien, who was walking in the cafeteria with Nino. "Adrien and Chloe were the only ones at fault. What is his problem anyway? Who does he think he is to act like that?" The girls looked at each other in shock. Alya had mentioned in the group chat that Marinette doesn't seem to know who Adrien really is, but they never expected it to be true.

Alya stepped in, "He had a bad experience and has been weird about it since." She decided it was probably best to make sure they don't reveal Adrien's identity until he himself realizes her inability to recognize him. Then hopefully he would chill out a bit around her.

Rose jumped up to change the subject, "What I want to know is where did you get those clothes!" Marinette started to cringe expecting an insult to follow. To her surprise, it never came. "These are beautiful, the patterns are amazing and ooh! Your backpack and purse match with your outfit!"

Marinette's eyes widened as the rest of the girls complimented her outfit, tears of joy forming in her eyes. As she thanked the girls and explained how she designed and made them herself, Alya slipped away to beat the snot out of a certain fashion model. "You!" she jabbed a finger at Adrien, "Come with me right now!"

Adrien glanced at Nino, who shrugged at him. "Better go with her dude. She is in that mood where there is no stopping her." Adrien groaned and submitted himself to Alya's wrath while Nino gave him a comforting pat on the back before heading over to the girls' table. "Hey, Marinette. I'm Nino, Alya's boyfriend. Awesome macaroons!" Marinette blushed, stuttering out a thank you. Nodding he heading over to hang at the boy's table.

Outside the cafeteria in the hallway, Alya slammed Adrien into the wall. "Ow, careful Alya! I have a physical next week and a bruised body is all my dad needs to pull me out of school."

"Shut up and listen, sunshine boi. Marinette is the sweetest thing ever and you made her cry," Alya growled, anger burning in her eyes.

Adrien glared back at her, "She is just another crazy fangirl."

"If she was a fangirl, then how come she doesn't recognize you?" Adrien raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Alya sighed, "She didn't know it was your spot, Chloe told her that was where new kids are supposed to sit."

Adrien sighed, "I don't quite believe what you say about her not being a fangirl, but I wouldn't put it past Chloe to pull something like that." He tried to walk away, but was pulled back by Alya, "What?"

She stared him down, fury still burning in her eyes, "You have to apologize to Marinette. You owe her that much at least for making her cry."

Adrien shook her off, "We'll see." with that he stalked off to have some choice words with Chloe, leaving a still seething Alya behind him. This was the last straw for Chloe, she had officially lost his friendship.

Fashion History

As Juleka lead Marinette into class, she noted Adrien was already there, watching them as they came in. Marinette, however, didn't even spare him a glance, focused on their conversation. That was point in Marinette's favor. They sat down across the aisle from Adrien, Marinette not sparing him a moment of her attention as she sat down with her back to him, facing Juleka. Adrien however, continued to stare as if studying her. Marinette simply didn't notice him, showing Juleka her designs in her sketchbook.

Ever since Alya introduced her to the girls at lunch, something inside of Marinette seemed to light up. She was still shy, but her stuttering and stammering seemed to have ceased. Adrien, she noted, had been studying Marinette since the end of lunch break. Juleka decided to test the waters of Marinette's knowledge, "So you want to be a fashion designer right?" Marinette nodded, giving Juleka a sweet smile. "Have you ever seen Gabriel Agreste's designs?" Adrien, she noticed, perked up at his father's name.

Marinette chuckled, "Of course it's kinda hard to not see his designs with them plastered all over the city. He is actually my fashion idol, I have all of the Gabriel Fashion magazines and have seen all of his designs."

Juleka decided to venture further, "What do you think of his main model?"

Marinette gave her a questioning look, "Adrien Agreste, he is okay I guess. Cute face but he probably acts like some snotty rich kid." She looked back her designs as she continued, "Even if he was a decent guy, I can't date him. Then if I succeed in getting my designs out there, people can't say it was because of him and not my own talent." Juleka smiled, nodding her understanding as she observed Adrien. The boy was beat red in embarrassment, not at all affected by the fact Marinette guessed he was a snotty rich kid.

It was clear to Juleka that Adrien was finally starting to accept Marinette really didn't recognize him or was a crazy fangirl of his. As a plus, she unknowingly told him that he was cute but not worth her time. She smiled to herself, a flustered Adrien was an awesome thing to observe.

When class started, Juleka noted that while Marinette paid attention to the instructor, Adrien kept stealing glances at her. Ensuring the teacher didn't see her, Juleka texted the girl squad the results.

School Entrance

Adrien glared at the dark sky as the rain came pouring down. If he knew that it was going to rain, he wouldn't have given his driver the afternoon off or at least brought an umbrella. He groaned, he hated rain more than anything, all those cold photoshoots his father forced him into. At night, he could hear his parents arguing about him even across the mansion, his mother displeased by his father's treatment of him. It leads to a lot of lonely dinners as they refused to eat together. Adrien cursed the rain, his rotten luck. Alya and Nino always joked that he needed to find his lucky charm. He never told them, or anyone, about his parents always fighting.

"Are you okay?" A timid voice came from behind him. Turning his head, he noticed Marinette standing behind him, umbrella in hand still closed.

"I'm fine, just waiting for a minute." Then for reasons unknown to him, he admitted, "I don't like the rain." Why did he admit such a silly thing?

Marinette didn't comment on it to his relief, she simply walked to the edge of the protection provided by the overhang next to him. Taking a deep breath and remembering Alya's encouraging words, she turned to face him shyly. "I am sorry for sitting in your spot. That Chloe girl told me that's where I was supposed to sit. I truly did not know how it was your spot. I don't know what you meant by being a fangirl of you, but I can assure you I didn't know you until this morning."

Looking down at her feet, she admitted, "I never had friends before today." Adrien gave her a surprised look as she continued, "At my old school, I was bullied a lot by everyone there. That's why I transferred here, to get a fresh start." She opened up her umbrella, then held it out to him. "I'm hoping we can start fresh too."

He eyed the umbrella then looked into her blue earnest eyes. He instantly got lost in them. "I-I'm A-Adrien," he stammered, unsure why.

She gave him a shy but bright smile, "I am Marinette." She offered her umbrella to him again, "I live only a few blocks away, I will be fine." Hesitantly, he took it from her, never looking away from her. Then his bad luck returned, the umbrella closed on his head as he was lost in her eyes, catching him off guard. Marinette must think I am such a fool, he figured. A soft quiet giggle pulled him out of his thoughts. Adrien opened up the umbrella, seeing her big smile as she tried to cover up her giggles with her hand.

He found himself laughing and smiling as well, something he hasn't done in a while. They both soon settled down, looking at each with small smiles. Marinette waved at him, "See you tomorrow, Adrien" She started to descend the stairs, then paused looking back at him nervously. "Please don't tell anyone about me being bullied at my old school. I'm not ready to talk about with everyone just yet." Adrien nodded, earning another bright smile from her. "Thanks, Adrien, I appreciate it. Bye."

He could only wave as she walked away, stuttering out, "Ye-eah, see yu-you to-tomorrow. What is wrong with me?" As he walked home, he could only think of Marinette, the first girl to not fangirl over him and the first person to make him laugh for the first time in a while.


	2. Chapter 2:their secrets

Adrien

It was her fifth day at her new school and Marinette seemed to Adrien like she was on cloud nine. Her new classmates, save for Chloe and Sabrina, had welcomed her with open arms. Sure there were a few bumps, but everything was a lot better than it was at Western Academy. She moved from the back row to sit next to Alya, behind Adrien and Nino. She and Adrien haven't interacted much, mostly just greeting each other.

Which was not okay with Adrien. He wanted her attention, to talk to her, to hang out with her. But she always seemed to be swept up by the girls, escorted from class to class. He voiced this complaint to Alya, who snorted and told him has yet to apologize for being rude. He groaned, "How am I supposed to apologize if I never get to talk to her?" Alya and Nino laughed the rest of the car ride to school at his frustration. So far Marinette had refused his offers of giving her a ride to school, much to his disappointment.

Alya shooed them off to class as she waited out front for Marinette. Adrien reluctantly obeyed, with what Alya remarked is a sad puppy face. Nino chuckled as they walked across the courtyard. "Seriously dude, what's with you?"

Adrien shrugged, "I don't know, it just feels like I have gotten the least amount of attention from Marinette. She is always interacting with you guys more than me."

Nino patted him on the back, "Don't worry bro, I am sure things will improve." He stared off in thought for a moment, then asked him, "Have you told her that you are the model Adrien Agreste? She might be more interested in talking to you."

Adrien shook his head as they entered the classroom, "I heard her talking to Juleka about how she would never date Adrien Agreste because she thinks it won't look good for her design career. But if she thinks that I am an ordinary boy named Adrien, then she would be more willing to befriend me."

Nino looked over at his very confusing friend, "Dude, you aren't making any sense. She said she won't date Adrien Agreste, so you think that means she won't be your friend? She would probably love to be friends with you being a fashion model and all. Not to mention your father is her favorite designer."

Adrien groaned and slammed his head into his desk, mumbling, "It's way more complicated than that. She might act weird instead because my dad is her favorite designer." He lifted his head back up to look at Nino again. "I just want to be sure that she won't avoid me before I tell her."

Nino sighed, his bro was way too dramatic for him to handle alone. Usually, Alya was here to shut him down, but she clung to Marinette since day one. "Okay dude," he sighed in defeat, "Do it your way, but remember that your face is plastered all over Paris and she will recognize you eventually. How do you think she will feel about you hiding this after you were convinced she isn't a rabid fangirl?" Adrien didn't reply, lost in the thought of that day in the rain when she spilled out her secret. She trusted him, but if he didn't do something soon it would seem to her that he didn't trust her back. He slammed his head into his desk again, wishing he hadn't been such an idiot on the first day of school.

"Are you okay, Adrien?" The sweet voice made him freeze up, the authentic concern in it making his heart beat faster. Daring to look up, Adrien found himself staring into the very blue eyes of Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Her eyes were filled with concern as she bit her lower lip, adding, "I mean if you want to talk about it."

Adrien felt himself freeze up, "N-n-no, I'm o-okay. Ju-just not feeling lecture li-listening to have." He begged for someone to end his misery, he couldn't even say words in the proper order any more.

While Alya and Nino both gave him questioning looks while Marinette simply gave him a smile that made him melt. "Okay! I don't want to be here either," she admitted. "But you guys make it bearable."

Adrien could only smile as she walked around him to her seat. That didn't go so bad, right? Alya observed the flustered boy, wondering how to test this new development. "Hey Marinette, what do you think of model Adrien Agreste?" Nino flashed her a warning glance while Adrien seemed to perk up at the mention of his name.

Marinette tilted her head as if in thought, then looking at Alya she answered, "He would look good in black and green."

Alya saw Adrien's cheeks go red, deciding to fish for more information. "I meant do you think he's cute?" Marinette raised an eyebrow as Adrien slumped down in his seat.

"Yeah, he's cute I guess. Why are you so interested in this?" Marinette asked with suspicion in her tone, eyes narrowed at the blogger.

Alya shrugged, "No reason, just curious." She shot a glance at the model, who was now beat red with embarrassment. This is interesting Alya noted, filing it away for future interrogation of Adrien.

Marinette also noticed Adrien's reddening face, the look of concern returning to her face. But then Ms. Bustier called the class to attention before she could voice her concerns. Marinette sighed, deciding she would just have to wait until after class as she listened to her teacher. "Today, I have a surprise announcement: Gabriel Agreste is holding a design contest for high school students. The challenge is to design a formal bowler hat. The winner's hat will be worn by Adrien Agreste at the next fashion show."

Alya would never forget the way Marinette's eyes lit up at the challenge. The designer clearly forgot everything else, her mind already mentally sketching out designs. It was taking all of Marinette's self-control not to pull her sketchbook out and start drawing right then. Ms. Bustier smiled as she continued, also noticing Marinette's eagerness. "You will have one week, then next week Friday your hats will be judged by Gabriel Agreste himself."

Adrien felt his palms get sweaty. That left him a week to tell Marinette that he was the famous model that she didn't want to be associated with. Just great.

Marinette

When Ms. Bustier dismissed them, Marinette wanted to spend the whole break working her hat design but decided to check on Adrien first. Waving on Alya and Nino, she picked up her bag and walked down the stairs. Or rather, tried to walk down the stairs, she barely rounded the corner of her desk when she tripped and fell forward. Right into Adrien's arms. He had stood up and turned to face her just as she fell, catching instinctively. For a moment the two teens stared at each other, Marinette's cheeks reddening slightly while Adrien's burned red. "Thanks for catching me," she said softly, slightly flustered by their current position. Thankfully Alya wasn't here, she thought as she speculated the crazy blogger's reaction. Alya would have assumed way too much.

Adrien stared at her, captivated by her blue eyes, her very blue eyes. Then with a sudden realization, he let go of her and looked away as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I, I'm s-sorry."

Marinette laughed softly, "For what? I didn't trip down the stairs because of you, I am just really clumsy sometimes. Besides, you just saved me from a broken wrist that might have taken me out of the design contest." She grinned at him, unsure what was wrong.

Adrien shook his head, "Not this, I mean the first day of school. I'm sorry for being so rude to you, I should have never acted like that. I am so sorry Marinette." Adrien braced himself, waiting for her reply.

He never expected what came next. Marinette wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly, resting her head against his chest. "It's okay Adrien. I know you are a great guy, not some bully." To his disappointment, she let go of him and stepped back, looking him in the eyes again. "And I know I can trust you with my secret."

Adrien frowned, "You told me you left your old school because of bullying." The flash of pain in her eyes tore at his heart, but he kept going. "What happened?"

Marinette looked away, "I am not ready, not yet at least not now. I barely was able to tell you actually." Marinette turned her eyes back on him, overwhelming him again merely with her gaze. "Please just don't tell the others yet. I'm still working through some stuff and rather tell them when I am more prepared."

Adrien sighed, wishing she would trust him and open up more but decided not to push his luck. "Okay, I promise you that I won't tell them. But," he hesitated, then continued, "you can always talk to me, that is if you want to."

Once again, she caught him by surprise, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Adrien. This means a lot to me." She then broke the hug, giving him a bright smile as she picked up her bag. "We better get going, the next period is going to start soon." As she headed through the door, Marinette glanced back, giving him one last smile before heading to her locker. Adrien didn't know how long he was standing there in a daze, but he did know when the first warning bell went off. He jumped and scrambled to leave as the next class entered the room. Yep, something was definitely different about the way Marinette made him feel, he thought as he dashed to his locker. And it was like nothing he had ever felt before.

Nino

Nino generally could understand most things, but what was going on with his bro was one of those things he did not understand. Adrien was barely eating, staring at a table in the corner of the cafeteria where the girls sat. Marinette had originally sat there alone, completely absorbed in her sketchbook. The rest of the girls noticed this and decided to move there for the day. As Marinette sketched, they chatted while watching her, curious to see her results. Eventually, the bluenette couldn't handle the attention and left for her 'secret garden of inspiration'.

And from the moment Marinette entered the room to the moment she left, Adrien had not stopped watching her. "Dude?" Adrien didn't respond, still looking at the door Marinette left through. Nino shook him by his shoulder, "Duuuude!"

Adrien snapped out of his daze, half glaring at Nino, "What?" Nino sighed, his bro was definitely out of his mind now.

"You couldn't stop staring at Marinette since she walked in. It is sweet but also kind of creepy. What's up with you?" Adrien huffed and looked away, clearly intent on not giving Nino an answer. "If you don't tell me, I'll let Alya torture you for it," he threatened.

Adrien frowned at him as Alya crept upon them. "Let me torture who?" Nino smirked at the look of defeat on Adrien's face as the model slammed his head into the table. Alya glanced at the model, then sat down next to her boyfriend. "What's wrong with him?"

Adrien turned his head, giving Nino a warning glare. The DJ ignored it, shamelessly spilling the deets. "Adrien here couldn't stop watching Marinette the entire time she was here, completely zoned out. And he looked so disappointed when she left." Nino smiled at Adrien, ignoring the death glare he was receiving from his bro.

Alya smiled, adding, "He also seemed to lose the ability to speak like a normal human being when she started talking to him." A devilish smirk came to her face as she added, "and when she said that Adrien Agreste the model is cute, he lit up like a stoplight." Adrien groaned as the couple laughed. Was he really that obvious? Alya didn't stop, "I wonder what she thinks of you then, Adrien Agreste, a famous fashion model who works for and is the son of her favorite fashion designer. Or if she even knows that yet?" Her eyes narrowed at him, telling him he wasn't getting himself out of that question.

Adrien sighed, "No, I haven't told her yet."

Nino threw out his arms in a 'why not' gesture as Alya pressed further, "And how long do you really expect that to keep going? Not that your face is plastered around the city or anything, but it kinda is plastered literally everywhere. And from what I learned about Marinette, she is pretty good at figuring things out."

Adrien groaned again, banging his head against the table again. "I know, I know. I just want to be friends first before she finds out I'm her fashion idol's son. Then maybe she still will want to hang out and be friends."

Alya smirked as Nino laughed, "Boi, you are so past wanting to be 'just friends' with her. It's written all over your face." Adrien blushed, remaining face down in embarrassment. Alya decided to feel some pity for her model friend, deciding he was tortured enough. "Tell you what, admit that you think Marinette is cute and that you want to want to be more than just friends with her. Then Nino and I will help you out."

As Adrien lifted his and rested it on his arms, Nino gave his girlfriend a questioning look, "What did we say about messing with other people's lives? Remember what happened with Kim and Rose when you thought they were destined to be together? They still argue sometimes about who's fault that was and then ignore each other for weeks."

Alya shook her, "This is different. This time, we will have the consent of one of the two. And I promise not to repeat the closet disaster plan unless Marinette also seems interested, then I will have no choice." At Nino's tired expression, Alya gave in, "Fine, we will only leave them alone together, nothing manipulative or forceful." both of them looked back at Adrien, who was clearly lost in thought again. "Hey, sunshine boi," Alya snapped her fingers him. "Are you gonna spill or what?"

Adrien jerked up, "Sorry, what?"

"You have a crush on Marinette or not dude?" Nino asked, smirking at Adrien. The model gave him a confused look.

Alya sighed, growing impatient with the love struct model. "Admit that you think that Marinette is cute and that you want to be more than just friends with her, then we will help you." The blogger and DJ leaned in, eager for his answer.

Adrien looked down, his cheeks growing red. "I want to be more than just friends with her," he admitted, "but I think calling Marinette cute is an understatement." Alya squealed in excitement, cause Nino to cover his ears as he smiled at his bro.

Marinette

She was thrilled, finally gaining the design that she approved of. All through her afternoon classes, Marinette was filled with excited energy, eager to get home and start making her hat. Today had been a great end to her first week, making new friends and meeting someone willing to listen to her talk about her issues. That someone was in front of her right now in fact. Sure she and Adrien had a rocky start, but he had apologized since. But Marinette couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't telling her something. Now that she thought about it, she didn't even know his last name. No one had said it around her and she was beginning to wonder what was up.

"She is just another fangirl," Adrien's words from that first day came to her mind. What did he mean by fangirl? The only famous person she knew named Adrien was… "Oh," she breathed, the word barely making it to Alya's ears. The blogger looked over with a question in her eyes. Marinette shook her head, not wanting to get into it just yet.

Marinette stared at the back of Adrien's head, wondering why he or anyone else for that matter wouldn't tell her. Little did she know, the model was fearing this very moment.

Otis

"Come on in, Marinette!" The young designer gave him a thankful smile as she entered the house. The school allowed her to leave early for her therapy session, though this would be more of a check-up. "Please have a seat." Once Marinette settled in on the couch across from his chair in his home office, he picked up his notepad and sat down as well. "So I guess from that smile on your face, the first week of school went well?" He already knew the answer, based off of the stories Alya had eagerly told him at dinner after school, not knowing Marinette was her father's patient.

Marinette eagerly nodded, telling him about her new friends, the wonderful teachers and the design contest that was just announced today. She went on to tell him about Adrien, their first meeting, the moment in the rain and today after the first period. "One thing I don't understand is why he didn't tell me who he really is."

Otis leaned forward, considering carefully before answering. "Perhaps he was afraid his celebrity status may scare you off after you placed so much trust in him, making you not want to seek his friendship." As Marinette nodded understandingly, he had another question, "Why didn't you tell the others about the reason why you switched schools?"

Marinette took a deep breath, "I'm not ready, yet at least. I just want to make sure they won't leave me if they realize how weak I really am."

Otis gave her a comforting smile, "Marinette, I can assure you none of them will leave you. They will support you no matter what, especially Alya. Once she has made a friend, she sticks by their side."

Marinette frowned, "How can you be so sure?"

Just then the front door opened, "Dad, I'm home!" Marinette's eyes widened as Alya's voice rang through the house.

Otis grinned reassuringly at the surprised designer as he called back, "Okay dear, I'm in a meeting." Marinette tried to sputter out something but stopped. Otis gave her a second before he answered her question. "Call it a hunch. But I won't tell her your secret, that is your decision. But if you choose to do so, I can promise you Alya will never leave you alone."


	3. Chapter 3:the theft

Marinette

She was up early, inspecting her hat for mistakes but to her satisfaction she found none. Today was the day her fashion idol Gabriel Agreste would be at her school, judging the hats students had made for the contest. All week long, students had been talking about it, nearly half the school had made hats hoping to win. Alya and Nino didn't make one but had been pestering to see her design all week. Marinette had simply smiled, telling them they would have to wait.

Now she was just leaving the bakery when a car pulled up to it. The door opened, Adrien Agreste stepping out onto the sidewalk. "Good morning Marinette. Do you want a ride to school?" he offered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Marinette gave him a kind smile, despite the fact the Adrien didn't tell her his last name yet stopped bothering her a few days ago. She had noticed the way he seemed to get nervous around her and figured it was because he was afraid she wouldn't talk to him due to his relations. "No thanks, I prefer to walk," she politely refused, clinging tightly to the box that contained her hat.

He seemed to sadden, causing Marinette to feel regret for refusing the offer. Adrien had been trying to spend more time with her it seemed. He suddenly perked up, "Well perhaps I could walk you to school?" A moment later, he seemed to panic, something Marinette had noticed multiple times over the week but couldn't quite figure out the cause behind it. "I mean if you want me to, that is if you don't mind?" For a moment Marinette swore she saw fear flicker in his eyes as he babbled rapidly. "You don't mind do you?"

Marinette giggled, "Yes Adrien, I don't mind at all." Adrien reached in the car, grabbing his bag and telling his driver he was going to walk the rest of the way. The big man grunted and drove off. The two teens walked in silence, Adrien flushed and slightly freaked out as Marinette observed him with amusement. After a few moments, he finally worked up the courage to speak and gestured at the box, "So i-is your h-hat in th-there?"

Marinette smiled sweetly at him, unknowingly melting Adrien with her smile, "Yeah, it's the hat." As he opened his mouth, she cut him off, "No, I won't let you take a peek. You get to see it at the same time your dad does. I carefully made a point of not showing sketches to anyone of this particular hat."

Adrien's eyes shot open in shock, "Wait, you know my dad is Gabriel Agreste? Wait, so you know who I really am?" He seems hesitant, afraid almost Marinette thought to herself.

She smiled reassuringly at him, "Of course I know! I was surprised I didn't figure it out sooner, with all the posters of you everywhere, including my own room. And there was the fangirl comment on the first day of school." Marinette shook her head as she laughed at herself. Then she turned her eyes on Adrien, curiosity in them. "What I don't understand is why you, or anyone else for that matter, didn't tell me. Is there something wrong?"

Adrien had to shake himself loose of the memorizing gaze of her bluebell eyes, trying to get his brain going. "Um, well its um, kind of stupid now that um, I say it out loud after finding out you known for a week." He looked down, rubbing the back of his neck as he mumbled, "I was worried you wouldn't want to be friends."

Marinette's eyes widened, her mouth opening and closing. Did he really want to be her friend that badly? She had never met someone who wanted to be her friend this bad before, save for maybe Alya who was eager to hang out with her. "What makes you think that?" she asked, still surprised by his answer.

Adrien continued to look down, "I heard you talking to Juleka during the first Fashion History class, about how you think I was probably some snotty rich kid." He didn't bother mentioning that he had heard her say twice that she thought he looked cute.

Marinette sighed, "I'm so sorry, Adrien. I didn't even know you yet at the time, even then I shouldn't have made those assumptions about you." She shifted the box to her right arm, hugging him with her left, "You are a very good friend and I appreciate you." Adrien was barely able to squeak out a thank you, face red. Marinette broke the hug, eagerly chatting about the summer designs. He wondered if he could somehow get her a ticket to the Fall Fashion show.

Alya

When Adrien messaged her he won't be able to give her a ride, Alya figured it was because he had a photoshoot. But what Nino and her saw instantly shot that down. Adrien and Marinette walked into the school, Marinette smiling and talking with a black box in her hands, Adrien smiling and nodding with what appeared to be a sunburn on his face. "Do you think he confessed?" Nino asked.

Alya analyzed the pair for a moment before shaking her head, "Nope, he doesn't seem extremely happy and it doesn't look like Marinette curb stomped on his heart. Probably tried to offer her a ride to school again, just without us this time." Nino grunted in agreement at Marinette spotted them and head towards them with Adrien in tow. "Hey, girl! Is that the hat?"

Marinette nodded, as she clutched the box more protectively. "Yes, but no peeking until the judges arrive." She turned to look at Adrien, "When is your dad coming?"

While Alya and Nino exchanged a satisfied look that Adrien's worries were hopefully over, Adrien frowned for a moment. "He said in the announcement that judging is at lunchtime, but Natalie has him scheduled to be here halfway through the second period. Probably so people without hats don't clutter up the place." Marinette nodded in acknowledgment before heading off to her locker, leaving Alya and Nino to smirk at Adrien. "What?"

"Someone wanted some alone time this morning and now I know why," Alya smirked at him, Nino grinning from ear to ear.

Chloe glared at the trio from across the courtyard, then at the disappearing form of Maribrat headed into the locker room. "Sabrina, steal Maribrat's hat, will you? I need to ensure I win this contest." The redhead nodded eagerly, always ready to please Chloe no matter what the cost was.

Marinette

The principal had just called for all hat designers to retrieve their hats and head to the courtyard for the judging. But as Marinette searched inside her locker, her box wasn't there. "No no no no no! It was here this morning!" As she emptied out the locker, her hopes started to falter as her box wasn't there.

Adrien entered the locker room looking for her, "Marinette? The judging is about to start." He found her curled up in front of her locker, head in her arms. "Marinette, what's wrong?" That's when he realized the box he saw earlier was missing.

"It happened again, I let myself get comfortable and dropped my guard. Now someone has stolen my design again," she sobbed. Adrien felt uncertain what to do, wanting to comfort her and also wanting to get Alya who would be a lot more capable at that than him.

He slid down beside her, "We can go out there and find your hat. Whoever stole it will be there too." Marinette seemed to hesitate, then took a deep breath and nodded. Adrien stood up, offering her his hand which he wished would stop shaking. She accepted it and they walked out into the courtyard. There was a large variety of hats, most of which Adrien his father would ignore after a glance. They reached a corner of the courtyard, where Chloe was standing next to a display, a black hat with a feather attached to it.

Marinette gasped, "That's my hat!" Adrien felt anger stir inside, wanting to let loose on Chloe but knew his parents were present and would disapprove.

Chloe stuck her nose in the air, "I don't know what you are talking about, I have worked so hard on this hat all week long."

Before Adrien could retort, his parents approached from behind, "Adrien, your father doesn't seem to understand that you don't want a party with all of the business associates invited." His mother seemed to have a hidden anger under her kind smile.

Next to her, Gabriel Agreste seemed to scowl, "He is much too old for a childish party and should be making connections for his future."

Emilie snorted, "You mean the future you are forcing him into, not the one he wants. You just want to keep your star model around to make you a profit."

"Emilie now is hardly the time or place."

"And when are the time and place? Every time we have this discussion, you always have something that has come up." Marinette felt her own despair and frustration disappear as she saw the pain on Adrien's face as he watched his parents argue. Making a decision, she snatched his hand and pulled him away from the forming crowd, who came over to see what was going on. Adrien looked at her, mouth open in astonishment. Marinette gave him a reassuring smile as she led him into the library.

"What about your hat?" Adrien asked, astonished by her actions.

Marinette shrugged, her sad smile piercing his heart, "You didn't look okay out there, so I decided to get you out of there."

Adrien felt his heart beat faster, "T-thanks." Marinette simply shrugged as they found an empty table in the corner of the library. They settled down, Marinette setting down her bag and pulling out her sketchbook. "I guess I was hoping that they wouldn't fight here, guess I just hoped for too much from them."

Marinette placed her hand on top of his comfortingly, "I take it your home life is that great?"

Adrien nodded, "They tend to disagree a lot, mostly about me being a model. I do because it makes father happy, but I think he only likes it because it brings in profits. As a result, he's trying to control my life more, insisting I go on these ridiculous diets." He shook his head, "On top of that I am expected to do fencing, piano lessons, and Chinese as well."

Marinette stared at him in shock, "How does he expect you to be able to keep up with all that?"

Adrien shrugged, surprised by both her concern and his ability to speak clearly. "Mother got me out of Chinese but wants me to learn the piano. I enjoy fencing so I still do it."

Marinette didn't seem reassured, "Still, that's not fair to you. And if they are fighting a lot…"

Adrien waved her off, "It's okay, I'm used to it." Marinette opened her mouth to disagree but he cut her off, "Besides, you just had your design stolen. Shouldn't we be focusing on that instead?"

Marinette grinned at him then opened up her sketchbook and flipped through a few pages, before stopping at a certain sketch. "See this?" Adrien looked and saw her pointing at some embroidery along the rim of the hat. Marinette flipped the sketch upside down and he say it. In cursive was the name 'Marinette D.C.'. "I signed it. When I panicked, I must have forgotten about it."

Adrien couldn't keep the wide grin off his face, "And Chloe has no idea about it. Once my father inspects it, he'll realize it had been stolen by Chloe. You're amazing Marinette!" He blushed as he realized what he had just burst out.

Marinette looks away shyly, her own blush forming. "Thanks." No one had said that to her besides her parents. Everyone else before had insulted her instead of complimenting her. As the bell signaling the end of the second period and the beginning of lunch rang, she came to a decision. "Do you want to come over to the bakery for lunch?"

Adrien felt his nerves all fire up at the same time, "Um s-sure! I mean, if that's okay with you."

Marinette smiled at him as she put her sketchbook back in her bag, "Of course it's okay with me, that's why I offered."

Alya

As she and Nino searched around the courtyard for Marinette, they happened upon a screaming Chloe. When Gabriel Agreste inspected her hat, he had found Marinette's signature embroidered to blend in with the hat, but be noticed upon close inspection. The signature suggested that whoever really designed it either had advanced talents for a student or Chloe had professional designer make it for her. "You are disqualified from this contest Ms. Bourgeois and I suggest you reveal the true designer."

"I was the one who really designed it! That name was just a coincidence that just happened without me intending it to!" Chloe insisted.

Gabriel sighed, "Clearly you lack the skill to recognize that the name was deliberately sewn in. This was not your creation."

Chloe turned around and stomped off, Sabrina following her dutifully with her nose in the air. "My daddy will hear about this!" she screamed over her shoulder.

Gabriel sighed, looking back at Emilie who was now inspecting the hat for herself. "When is she going to realize I funded her father's campaign and am the only reason he got elected?"

Emilie shrugged, then gestured at the name. "I believe I know who this Marinette is. If you spent more time communicating with your son rather than managing him, you would have known right away too."

Gabriel ignored the jab at his preferred parenting methods. "Who?"

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, she is the daughter of the famous bakers. Adrien says she just started going to school here." Emilie gave him a stern glare, "In fact, he talks about her a lot and is unsure how to reach out to her if only he had a father to guide him."

Alya jumped up and down eagerly, shaking Nino excitedly. "That means Marinette won!" then she frowned looking around, "Wait where is Marinette?" Nino shrugged looking around as Alya pulled out her phone to call her. As she turned on her screen, she saw a text message from Marinette.

Marinette: FYI, bailed with Adrien to go to the bakery for lunch. His parents were arguing so I pulled him out of there.

Alya squealed happily, causing Nino to jump in shock. "Don't do that, I only have so much stress I can take in a day."

Alya shoved the phone in his face, "We don't even have to help him, she is doing all the work!" Then she paused and sent a message of her own.

Alya: Did Chloe steal your design?

Marinette: Yup, but I signed it, so she won't get away with it. Just hope she gets in trouble for breaking into my locker

Alya: I'm on it girl

Alya grabbed Nino, dragging him to the locker room, "Come on, we got a crime to prove." Behind them, the Agreste's headed to the head office with Marinette's hat in hand.

Adrien

Adrien didn't know what he expected when he entered the bakery, but he certainly didn't expect for Marinette's parents to welcome him so warmly. He lived in a cold home for so long and was shocked by the fact that they cared about him, even if they just met him. They wasted no time shoving food in his face, so much that his dietitian would have a heart attack at the scene. He attempted to pay for it, but the glare from Marinette when he reached for his wallet scared that thought away. Thanking her parents again, he let himself be led upstairs to her room.

He never expected Marinette's walls to be covered in his modeling photos. Marinette noticed his reaction and giggled at him, "I know I said I wasn't a fangirl, but I am, I just prefer the clothes and not the guy wearing them." She laughed again at his pout, "Not that you aren't a good friend." Adrien frowned on the inside, that was the second time she called him a good friend. What did he do to deserve this?

They ate the lunch her parents gave them in silence, Marinette analyzing him carefully. His birthday was coming up soon and from what she could tell it wasn't going to be a joyous occasion. Already she was brainstorming ideas, "What's your favorite color?"

The question startled Adrien, "Uh, blue." Marinette nodded, making a mental note of it. She was going to ask more when her phone went off. It was Alya.

Alya: Girl, it hit the fan. Sabrina is taking the fall for Chloe and got suspended, possibly expelled. Gabriel Agreste sends his congratulations and left, which pissed off Adrien's mom I think. Chloe is losing it, saying how if you didn't sign it she would have won.

Marinette smiled, telling Adrien about the message save for the bit about his parents. He grinned at her, "Of course you won!" Marinette moved to text Alya back when she realized the time.

"We gotta go, like now!"

Alya

Alya couldn't help but smirk as Marinette and Adrien burst into the classroom as the bell rang. The way Chloe's face went red with rage when she saw them enter together was also very satisfying. "What took you two so long?"

Marinette raised an eyebrow, "Nothing, we just lost track of time."

"Doing?"

"Eating lunch, why are you being so weird? Adrien and I are just friends." Alya smirked, knowing full well the blushing model would disagree. And Chloe didn't seem to approve at all. "Hey, when's Adrien's birthday?"

The question caught Alya off guard, "Um, next week Saturday. Why?" Marinette shrugged and didn't answer, leaving Alya to drive herself crazy wondering what was going on.

It was still bugging her when she got home that evening. Looking around the house, she found that no one else was home. Alya checked her dad's office, which was also empty. As she was about to give up, Alya noticed a closed file on the desk. Curiosity driving her, she read the name. Gasping in shock, she read it again: Marinette Dupain-Cheng.


	4. Chapter 4: jealousy and crushes

Alya

As she walked to school, Alya fidgeted nervously. Why did her father have a file on Marinette? He only has them on his patients who come in for therapy. Why on earth would Marinette even be there? She was about to open the file when the front door opened, causing her to rush out the room. If her dad found out she was looking at patient files, he would be pissed.

Now as she observed Adrien walking Marinette to school, Alya wondered how much the new girl wasn't telling them. Adrien was smitten with Marinette even if she couldn't tell, Alya was worried whatever Marinette was hiding was bad for them. She stopped herself, no, Marinette has been kind and open with them. And if she wanted to take advantage of them she would have by now.

Before she could further drive herself insane thinking over it, Nino snuck up behind her. "Hey! What's got you staring at them this morning? It's only the same thing that has been going on since last week. She talks and he smiles and nods because he is mentally incapable of doing anything else around her." He grinned at his own comment. Making fun of his bro's crush has become one of his favorite pastimes as of late. And Adrien made it way to easy for him.

Alya shook her head clear, deciding it best to keep Nino clear of this mess for now. "It's just sad how obvious he is and oblivious she is. At this rate, we could be watching this painful dance a year from now."

Nino shrugged, "So tell her."

Alya glared at him, "Don't you think it would be better out of Adrien's mouth and not ours?" Nino shrugged, keeping his reply to himself as Alya's latest ship approached them.

"Hey guys," Marinette greeted, with Adrien nodding at them behind her.

"Hey girl, so you and sunshine walked to school together again. Is there something you two care to tell us?" Alya wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as Nino smirked.

Marinette smiled as she shook her head, "No, we are just really good friends." Alya forced a smile as she walked alongside Marinette into the school, careful not to look at the dejected Adrien. He looked so defeated and it broke her heart. Maybe she should record Adrien's reaction next time and show it to Marinette... No, Adrien deserves to tell her on his own time, not forced into by her. That wouldn't be fair to him.

Nino put his hand on Adrien's shoulder comfortingly, "It's okay bro. Things will improve, I'm sure of it!" Adrien shrugged, unsure at the moment. Marinette seemed to only think of him as a friend and at his current rate, Adrien wasn't sure he would ever escape the friendzone. He would just have to try harder.

Marinette

As they waited for Ms. Mendeleiev to come to teach math, Alya chatted with Adrien and Nino while Marinette worked on her design for Adrien's birthday present. After hearing about his not too great home life, she had been planning on making sure he had at least one reason to be happy. Keeping it a secret would be troublesome with all the curious eyes around her, but she would find a way to keep them back.

When Ms. Mendeleiev called the class to attention, she closed her sketchbook and slipped it back into her bag. Two rows behind her, another artist didn't stop drawing. Nathaniel kept gong at his sketch, ignoring the events around him. Alix glanced over at him and gave her friend a nudge, knowing the cranky physics teacher hated it when students didn't give her their full attention. Alix had been in too many of those and if Nathaniel got in trouble, she might end up going down with him. She nudged him again, only to receive a glare before he went back to work. Alix sighed and gave up, deciding to let detention with Ms. Mendeleiev teach him a lesson.

It didn't take long for Ms. Mendeleiev to notice Nathaniel not paying attention in class. "Mr. Kurtzberg, would you come up here to show the rest of the class what is more interesting than my lecture?" Nathaniel's face went red as he shook his head, startled speechless. Everyone looked back at him, both curious and sympathetic to him. Ms. Mendeleiev didn't care, this was mathematics, not art class. "Come down at once and show me your paper."

Reluctantly Nathaniel picked up his sketchbook and slowly walked down the stairs, avoiding the gaze of his classmates. Unfortunately, he tripped over Ivan's bag, landing flat on his face in the aisle between Marinette and Kim. His sketchbook landed open next to Chloe, who immediately picked it up. "Ooooh, what is this?" Chloe sneered, holding up the sketchbook. Everyone saw the almost complete sketch of Marinette sitting on a bench in front of a sunset. "Looks like Nathaniel has a crush on Maritrash!"

Marinette blushed while Adrien felt his hand tightened on his textbook, unsure if he was mad at Chloe or getting defensive over Nathaniel seeming to have an interest in Marinette. Nino, on the other hand, swore he heard Adrien growl like a wild animal.

"Give it back!" Nathaniel tried to snatch his sketchbook back from Chloe, but she moved swiftly out of his reach, laughing as he fell again. Chloe's laughter was cut short when someone else took it from her. Turning around, Chloe met Marinette's ice-cold glare. The designer shot her a cold look before handing the sketchbook back to Nathaniel, giving the shy artist a kind smile.

Adrien growled again as Nathaniel blushed harder, doing his best not to do something he would regret. Nino leaned over to whisper, "Dude, chill out or we will have put you down. And we both remember what happens when Alya gets violent." Adrien felt a chill go down his spine, forcing himself to relax as Marinette sat down again. She glanced at him, wondering what got him so worked up.

Ms. Mendeleiev inspected the sketch, "You have talent, but there is a time and place. See me in my homeroom after school for detention. I hope you will ensure to focus on the subject being taught instead of your sketchbook in the future." Nathaniel nodded, face red with embarrassment. His secret crush on Marinette was most likely exposed by now and he never felt for embarrassed.

Marinette observed the shy artist feeling bad for him, glaring at Chloe again. Looking back at the board, she immersed herself in the lecture. On her desk, her phone lit up with a message from Alya.

Alya: that sucks for Nathaniel, now he has detention on his B-Day

Marinette frowned, it was Nathaniel's birthday? But no one even mentioned it. Sure he wasn't very talkative, but he should still get some kind of recognition for his birthday. A plan started formulating in her head, one that would take up her entire lunch hour.

Alya

It was weird seeing Adrien jealous. It was just something Alya figured he was incapable of, only getting angry at Chloe. Now the blonde model was glaring at Nathaniel across the lunchroom as if waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Marinette had disappeared after class, saying she had to work on something at home. That left Adrien without the distraction of Marinette to keep him from doing something stupid.

"Adrien." He didn't even twitch, glared locked on the artist across the room. "Adrien!" A few eyes looked over, but they soon looked away. Adrien still didn't even acknowledge her, both frustrating and worrying Alya. Nathaniel looked up and spotted Adrien glaring at him, fear written on his face. Fed up with his behavior, she slugged him. Nino jerked back, fearing a fight breaking out.

Adrien turned his glare onto Alya, "What was that for?"

Alya raised an eyebrow, "You were ignoring us and putting the fear of Agreste into Nathaniel. Seriously, Adrien, you need to take a chill pill and relax."

"How am I supposed to do that when he is trying to steal my princess?"

Alya's jaw dropped while Nino stared at him wide-eyed, "Dude, since when did you start calling her that?" Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, staring at the table.

Alya rolled her eyes, "Doesn't matter, Marinette doesn't belong to you until you man up and tell her to her face that you like her. Until then no threatening Nathaniel, at all." Adrien didn't meet her gaze, still staring at the table. Alya sighed, "If you are going to do something stupid, think this first: What would Marinette think?" With that, she left the boys to join the girls headed to the computer lab.

Nino nudged him gently, "What she said, bro. I headed to make some new mixes, wanna come with?" Adrien shook his head, still not looking up from the table. "Okay dude, stay cool!" As Nino walked away, Adrien returned his glare to the exit Nathaniel slipped out a few moments before. The artist clearly noticed the model's glare and knew he did something wrong so he left. What could a little follow up warning hurt?

Adrien immediately shook the thought out of his head, Alya words coming back to him. Marinette would not approve at all, especially after she had been bullied at her old school. She definitely would not speak to him if she heard he threatened Nathaniel in private. Adrien sighed, he would just have to hope he still had a chance. Not for the first time that day, Adrien banged his head into the table. "Ow."

Adrien

He was headed to the locker room, intent on collecting his textbooks when he spotted Nathaniel head into there as well. Adrien groaned, knowing what he had to do. He entered the locker room and located the artist. Nathaniel didn't notice him, trying to pull his physics textbook out of the bottom of the stack of textbooks. "Hey, Nathaniel." The other boy jumped, surprised by Adrien's sudden appearance. Adrien saw the flash of fear in Nathaniel's eyes and his hands up, trying to keep him calm. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to say sorry for glaring at you like that."

Nathaniel regarded him suspiciously, still tensed up. "Then why were you staring at him like you wanted to murder me?"

Adrien hesitated, then explained, "I thought you had a crush on Marinette and felt threatened, I guess. But I think I overreacted and I am sorry for that."

"But I do have a crush on Marinette."

Adrien's blood froze as his thoughts of threatening Nathaniel came back to him. Then he caught himself, knowing it would only make things worse. "Swell, good luck I guess." And he walked away before he could say anything more to the artist that might ruin things with Marinette and make it worse than it already is.

As he opened his locker door, Adrien heard a familiar voice that made him freeze up, "Nathaniel! You got a second?" He peered around the corner cautiously, spotting Marinette holding a bag next to Nathaniel. Forcing himself to stay put, he listened in. "I heard it was your birthday today, so I made this for you. I designed it a while back and I hope you like it. She handed the artist a brown leather messenger bag, with what appeared to be pockets made for sketch pencils. "Happy birthday!"

Nathaniel's face lit up, "Tha-thank you Marinette." He looked down at the ground embarrassed, "So-sorry for drawing that picture of you."

Marinette's smile brightened the whole, making Adrien temporarily forget that he has a rival. "That's okay, I actually thought it was pretty good." She blushed a little, "Do you think I could have one sometime?"

Nathaniel grinned, "Of course!" The first warning bell rang, prompting Marinette to say goodbye and get her books. Adrien banged his head against his locker, yep he was screwed.

Alya

As a journalist, Alya rarely missed anything. Such has Nathaniel's new bag and the small smile on his face. The huge smile of satisfaction on Marinette's face. The look of disappointment and fear on Adrien's face.

Explanation? Marinette made Nathaniel a new bag for his sketchbook during lunchtime and Adrien saw her give it to him. She observed the designer, who was now chatting with Rose about the band she was starting with Juleka. Clearly, Marinette meant well and whatever she was hiding, it probably wouldn't hurt anyone. Alya would wait for Marinette to tell her the secret and not read the file, the girl deserved that much at least.

Nino entered the room, stopping at the sight of miserable Adrien. He glanced at Alya, who shook her head at him not to ask. He shrugged, depressed Adrien.

Marinette

Despite Rose's invite to come over and watch the band, Marinette declined. She had finished the design for Adrien's present in the remaining breaks and was eager to start making it. A big smile on her face, Marinette pulled out her blue fabric to start measuring and cutting.


	5. Chapter 5: birthday surprise

Adrien

Due to excessive arguing between his parents, Adrien was on lockdown in his bedroom on his birthday. Neither parent seemed to truly care about him, agreeing to lock him up at home instead of letting him roam free for his birthday. From his window, Adrien could see Collège Françoise Dupont in the distance. He felt another pang of sadness, knowing he wouldn't be able to see any of his friends today.

His phone buzzed again, probably Alya or Nino again, they were the only people at school who he had given his private number to. Adrien been meaning to give it to Marinette but is physically incapable of talking to her normally. His phone buzzed again, prompting him to pull it out and turn it on. To his surprise, it was an unknown number.

Unknown: Happy birthday Adrien! :)

Unknown: It's Marinette BTW, Alya gave me your number, hope you don't mind. I am so sorry that you are stuck at home :(

Adrien smiled for the first time that morning, reading the messages again. Despite his current situation, his spirits were raised just by the fact that she was thinking of him. His phone buzzed again, this time a message from Alya.

Alya: FYI, I gave Marinette your number. No, I didn't put her up to it, she was wondering where you are and asked for your number ;)

Adrien found it very hard not to whoop with joy.

Alya

The blogger kept her grin hidden from the designer sitting next to her, who was waiting for a reply. Alya knew full well that Adrien was probably doing a victory dance after the text she sent him confirming that it was Marinette texting him. She couldn't wait to see Adrien's reaction to the present Marinette had brought for him. So far, the designer had refused to let Alya and Nino have look, stating firmly that Adrien had to be the first to see it.

Despite all her begging and attempts at bribery, Marinette still wouldn't show her even just a sketch of the gift. After seeing what she made for Nathaniel in a single lunch hour, Alya was naturally curious to see what she made this time with more work time. But Marinette kept insisting that she would get to see it after Adrien and now it was driving her nuts. "Pleeease? Come on just a peak?" she begged.

Marinette laughed as she placed the gift in her locker and locked the door. Since Sabrina broke into her locker, she upgraded to a heavier lock that simple bolt cutters won't breakthrough. "Alya, it's a present for Adrien. It's only right that he gets to see it first." Alya pouted, trying to guilt her into showing her. Marinette just laughed harder, "Seriously Alya, you can wait until after he opens it."

"Girl, he is locked up and his parents probably threw away the key. They probably won't even let him even have a present this year, so you won't even be able to give it to him today," Alya stated, her mood swung over to grumpy as she was completely done with Adrien's parents' issues. "I don't think there is a way you can get your present to him."

"What if I told you I have a pair of magical ladybug earrings that turn me into a superhero capable of getting past the mansion's security measures?" Marinette asked, a cheeky smile on her face.

"Haha, last time I show you my conspiracy theories," Alya huffed, not amused.

"A magical cat ring?"

Alya shoved her forward, "Whatever, let's get to class."

Marinette

Glancing at Adrien's empty seat, Marinette felt a sense of something missing. As Ms. Bustier was off to a surprise meeting, the class was left to read through the assigned chapters and do the questions on their own. This did not happen the way the teacher intended it to though.

The moment she had left, Chloe declared she was going shopping and left the school. Kim and Alix were caught up in some ridiculous competition. Max checked out, totally focused on his artificial intelligence project. Ivan and Mylene put in their earphones and read the assigned reading together as the loud music boomed out of the earphones. Rose drew unicorns with a happy smile on her face as Juleka smiled and watched. Alya was working on her blog theories while Nino put on his beats, eyes closed as his head nodded to the rhythm.

Marinette smiled to herself as she pulled out her sketchbook, having already done the assignment most of the class was neglecting. It was amazing the different ways her classmates accomplished the art of not getting work done. Her phone dinged, a new message sent to her. Since Ms. Bustier was gone, she figured it would be okay to have it out.

Adrien: So I just a birthday breakfast, alone. For two people who seem to be so passionate about my birthday, they seem to just want to use to give the other the cold shoulder.

Marinette frowned, very upset with the message she received. That was not at all the way his parents should be behaving, especially today of all days.

Marinette: That's not okay, you deserve better!

Marinette: We are left alone unsupervised, I'm done the assignment and am just doodling. Wanna connect and play through this RPG game I found yesterday together?

Adrien: Sure! That would be awesome!

Marinette giggled to herself, happy to have him excited for something at least. She sent him the link to the app' store page. She then sent him her username, waiting for him to request for a party. Marinette giggled again, thinking 'I guess Adrien still gets a party on his birthday, sort of.' In honor of Alya's conspiracy theories of special magic jewels, she decided to name her character Ladybug.

Adrien: What should I do for a character name?

Marinette: I named mine after one of those superhero myths Alya had been researching lately, Ladybug. The stories say that the Ladybug was always helped by the Black Cat.

Adrien: Cool, then I will name my character Chat Noir!

His enthusiasm made her happy, hoping this would raise his spirits a little. At least until she got her present to him.

Adrien

Despite his parents best efforts, his morning turned out not to be so bad after all. Adrien had spent the last hour lying on his couch, attention completely focused on his phone. Marinette was full of surprises, he knew, but today's surprise caught him off guard. She was a gamer, and really good too. Marinette managed to figure out every puzzle, problem or strategy as if the solution lit up before her eyes.

They leveled up fast, going through gear like Chloe goes through shoes. About ten minutes ago, they found a vendor selling color shaders for gear. The effects were only cosmetic but they both agreed it would be cool to have a consistent color scheme. Soon, their mismatched gear pieces were matching in color at least. Marinette's Ladybug was now red with black trim while his Chat Noir was black with a neon green trim.

They had just completed another side quest, stopping a group of barbarians from stealing a village's harvest. The elder NPC was still thanking them when Marinette logged off suddenly. Worried she might have gotten caught playing on her phone during class time, Adrien logged out of the game, hoping for some kind of message to let him know everything was alright. A few moments later, a text from her rolled down on his screen.

Marinette: Sorry! Bell rang :( But we can play again during lunch maybe?

Adrien: That's okay! We should definitely do this again, it was awesome!

Marinette: Agreed! :)

Adrien found himself grinning like a lovestruck idiot. Even if it was just an emoji, her smile made him feel happy. Setting his phone, he looked around his room for something else to occupy his attention. His eyes fell on his computer, a number of sticky notes on his computer. Resigning himself to boredom, Adrien set about working on his various homework assignments. But his thoughts remained on Marinette.

Natalie

Her job normally was assisting Gabriel in organizing events, meetings and managing Adrien's schedule for his activities and modeling around his school time. However, today was not a normal day. Her boss and his wife had been arguing for weeks over their son's birthday. Their disagreement over the type of party they wanted for their son caused Natalie to only be able to clear Adrien's schedule for the day so he would be available for whatever the parents agreed upon. This meant Adrien was not allowed to leave the mansion for any reason whatsoever.

She knew Adrien hated being locked up for the day in the mansion and felt bad for the boy, hating the whole situation. She knew Gabriel and Emilie since before they were married and witnessed the fallout as they both had different visions for Adrien's future. Her intercom beeped. "Natalie," her bosses neutral voice came through, "Have you obtained a present for Adrien's birthday?"

Natalie froze, knowing full well that Gabriel had never asked her to get a present for him to give to Adrien. "Sir, you didn't make that request," she stated in a calm tone, her mind racing as she panicked inside.

"I just did," Gabriel's voice came again, unapologetic. "Be sure to have one ready." Without another word, he turned off the intercom on his end, cutting of Natalie's reply. She groaned, resting her head in her hands. She already was loaded with duties today, no time to leave the mansion to retrieve a present.

Her desk phone rang. Groaning, Natalie picked it hoping it wouldn't be another emergency. Emilie's voice came across the line, "Natalie, I am currently unable to make time today to find the time to get a present for Adrien. I will need you to find one for me." Without waiting for a reply from Natalie, Emilie hung up. Natalie dropped her head onto the desk, overwhelmed with the weight placed on her shoulders.

Behind her, Adrien walked through the hallway headed towards the kitchen and noticed the stressed assistant. He came back a few moments later with a fresh cup of coffee made the way he knew Natalie preferred. She gave him a thankful smile, wondering how such a caring soul grew up and lived here. "Thank you, Adrien. Sorry, you are not able to go to school today, your parents can't agree on what to do today."

He shrugged, used to this kind of behavior by now. "It's okay Natalie, I know you always try your best, which is more than I can say for them." Giving her a kind smile, he headed off to his original task.

Natalie groaned, why couldn't Gabriel and Natalie have a bratty kid who doesn't deserve gifts. She had to find a way to get him some kind of gift that had meaning but looked like it was from his parents.

Marinette

As her second-period class ended, it hit her. The best possible way to get her present past Agreste Mansion's security to Adrien. The last couple of times Adrien stopped by her house to walk her to school, she noticed his bodyguard head inside the bakery. She called her mom to find out what he had bought those times.

"He got those little cheesecake treats we make. A dozen both times."

"Thanks, Mom, could you maybe box up a dozen for me?"

"Um, okay dear," her mother sounded confused, but Marinette knew she would have plenty of time to explain after school. Rushing home and retrieving the treats, she thanked her parents again before heading out again.

Thanks to some directions from Alya, she knew how to get to Adrien's home. Marinette just hoped her plan would work once she got there. Before long she stood before the tall black gates of Agreste Mansion, home of her fashion idol. She pressed the doorbell, willing herself to stay strong.

A deep voice answered, "Yes?"

Marinette cleared her throat, "Hi, I'm Marinette, Adrien's friend from school. I have a present for his birthday to give to him." The deep voice didn't reply, prompting Marinette to play her ace in the hole. "I also brought little cheesecake treats from my parents' bakery."

A box slid out of the wall next to her, "You can place the gift and treats in there." Marinette smiled, having guessed right that it was Adrien's bodyguard over the intercom. Placing the gift and treats in the box, Marinette stepped back as it closed shut again. "Have a good day," said the deep voice.

The intercom turned off before she could say another word, but Marinette was still in high spirits. She has managed to get her gift to Adrien, which will hopefully brighten his day. And once he read the card, he will know who sent… Marinette froze in her tracks, she had forgotten the card. At least he got the gift she decided.

Natalie

Adrien's bodyguard had dropped the wrapped gift off at her desk space, before heading off with a box of treats. After confirming what the contents were with a scanner that normal assistants wouldn't need, Natalie set it aside for later. But after hours have gone by, she was getting more overwhelmed by her workload.

Looking over at the unsigned gift, Natalie made a decision that she might regret someday, but not right now. Picking up the gift, she went to Adrien's room. Natalie knocked on the door, "Adrien?"

He opened the door, "Yes Natalie?"

She handed him the gift, "This is from your parents. I hope you enjoy it and happy birthday."

Adrien nodded his thanks at her as she left, carefully unwrapping the gift. Pulling it out of the box he couldn't believe his eyes. It was nothing he remembered modeling for his father's brand, not recognizing it from any other brands for that matter. He was shocked that his parents even remembered to get him a present as he inspected the gift.

That was when he noticed the all too familiar signature threaded in upside down.

Marinette

"Marinette! One of your friends is here."

"Okay, mom! I am coming!" Marinette set down her sketch pencil, checking her phone for any missed messages. Still nothing from Adrien to her disappointment, just Alya and Nino pestering for images of her gift for Adrien.

Rushing down the stairs to the living room, Marinette tripped and fell down the last couple steps. A pair of arms in a very familiar hoodie caught her. Looking up, she found herself staring into the flushed face of Adrien Agreste. "Um, h-hi?"

"Hey," she greeted. "So does this mean you like your present?"

He smiled, face growing a little redder. He wore the blue zip-up hoodie she had made for him, a little pattern in black trim running along it. "Yeah, though I didn't know it was from you until I saw your signature."

Marinette's face lit up as she regained her footing. Then she got curious, "I thought you were locked up. What changed?"

Adrien got a cheeky look on his face, "A certain bodyguard really likes these cheesecake treats from a certain bakery and was willing to sneak me out as long as I got him some."

She laughed, "I guess I'll have to make sure to get some for him. So what do you what to do?"

Adrien held up his phone, "I remember a certain warlord that needs to be defeated. Any chance you would be up for that?"

"One condition."

"Name it." Adrien was ready to do anything for this girl.

"Model in that sweater so I take a few pictures. Alya isn't exactly known for her patience.

Alya

She had been staring at her computer, debating on stealing a certain file when her phone dinged. Alya squealed as she looked at the photo of Adrien posing in a blue hoodie with black trim, the file forgotten for now.


	6. Chapter 6: the band practice

Adrien

He groaned as he walked over to the makeup section escorted by Natalie and his bodyguard. His entire morning was filled up by photoshoots, sabotaging Alya's plan to get him some time with Marinette at the band's first rehearsal to their friends. But like all good things, his dad found a way to ruin it.

To his surprise, there was another chair set up next to his. Neither of his parents was present and he wasn't informed that another model is present. Adrien groaned, praying it wasn't another female model who didn't understand personal space. His luck was not present, a sickly sweet voice disturbing world peace from behind him, "Wow, it's really Adrien Agreste."

Adrien turned around to see who was speaking, "Um yes, and you are?"

The girl, a brunette with green eyes, smiling wolfishly at him, "I'm Lila Rossi. We are shooting together today!"

Marinette

Marinette listened to Alya chatter on about her research, the excited blogger claiming to have had a breakthrough on the powers these ancient heroes possessed, as the two of them walked to the Couffaine boathouse. She had never been there before, Rose had just invited her the previous day after school to come to see them rehearse.

One of Alya's excited hand gestures hit her arm, jerking Marinette back to reality and the blogger's theories, "and the Black Cat is supposed to be able to make anyone around him have bad luck. Must be pretty useful in fights."

"Wouldn't that work in reverse too? Make people have less bad luck?" Marinette questioned, staying interested in her friend's interest.

Alya's face scrunched up concentration, "No, legends say that the Black Cat reeks of bad luck. In the comics, the incredible Hulk is a gamma radiation reactor. The Black Cat is the same, but with bad luck. He can make certain people have bad luck if he wants to, but anyone around him could suffer from bad luck even if he doesn't want them too." Alya frowned for a moment, consulting her notes on her phone. "That does make sense right?"

Marinette shrugged, "Maybe that's why Ladybugs and Black Cats are always teamed up in history. Good luck cancel out bad luck?"

Alya immediately started typing, "Oooh, that's a good line." She glanced up at Marinette, "Mind if I use it in my next blog post?"

Marinette smiled at her, "Not at all. Whoa." She stared at the colorful boathouse, surprised at how it stood out along the bay.

Alya grinned, "Ya, that was my first reaction too. Just wait till you meet Juleka's mom." She led the way across the bridge set across the dock to the boathouse.

On deck was Ivan checking his drum set while Rose did a mic check with Juleka's help. Mylene, who was sitting on a nearby couch, spotted them and waved them over. "Hey, guys you made it! They are still running checks before rehearsing, so we got some time yet."

Alya and Marinette took in the bands set up, noting the various instruments. "How long had they been playing?" Alya asked to Marinette's surprise.

"You haven't heard them yet?"

Mylene gave Marinette a kind smile, answering for Alya, "They haven't performed for anyone except me so far." The quiet girl paused for a moment, then added, "Oh, also Juleka's and Luka's mom of course."

Marinette only found more questions in the answer, "Who's Luka?"

Mylene's eyes lit up, "He's Juleka's older brother. He plays the guitar and helped Rose write her songs." A woman came up from below the deck, carrying a small speaker as she weaved through the messy deck. "Hi, Captain Couffaine! Do you remember Alya? And this is Marinette, she is new at school."

The woman gave them a kind smile, "Welcome mateys. Are you excited to hear the band?" The three girls nodded eagerly as the captain looked around the deck. "Where is Luka? He is needed for the soundcheck is he not?"

"He is still downstairs in our cabin," Juleka answered, testing her own bass guitar's sound.

Anarka looked around, then dropped her eyes on Marinette. The girl was looking around the deck taking in the whole scene around them. "You, Marinette. Could you please head down below and get him for us?"

Marinette flashed a kind smile, nodding at she headed down the stairs below deck, "Sure." Marinette wandered down, walking through the cluttered living area, careful not to trip over anything else below. Just past it was another room, the decorating split down the middle with the far side of the room's wallpaper purple. Next to a bed was a desk, sitting on it were several photos of what appeared to be Juleka modeling. Marinette inspected the photos, interested in this new discovery. The clothes weren't from any brand and the photos may have been taken by Rose or one of the girls. Maybe she wanted to model but was just shy? "I wonder if she would want to model one of my designs," the designer asked herself.

"Well Juleka isn't actually a world-famous model, so she would definitely accept any offer. Though she is a bit shy, so she might not say yes right away." Marinette squeaked, jumping as a calm voice startled her, memories of being cornered by surprise by Lila and her cronies coming back to her. Behind her on the opposite side of the room was a blue-haired boy with a guitar in his lap, regarding her with a small smile. He frowned when he realized she was going into some kind of panic attack, "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I'm Luka, and I'm not very good with words."

Marinette didn't say anything, still shaking from the potential threat. 'Why didn't I take Alya with me?' she thought to herself, wishing the protective blogger was there.

Luka stared at her concerned, hating the fear he saw in her eyes. He found himself captivated by them, unable to look away from them or her soft lips. Luka forced himself to pry his eyes away, then picked up his guitar, "Let me try this." He strummed the cords, a calm melody drifting from him to the startled girl. His heart lifted as she seemed to calm down as he continued the melody, setting herself down on Juleka's bed. He tilted his head frowning, "You look familiar?" Scanning the room, he found what he was looking for: a rock magazine with Jagged Stone on the cover wearing his now-iconic Eiffel Tower sunglasses. Behind him waving shyly was Marinette. "You designed Jagged Stone's sunglasses, Marinette right?"

She nodded, still hesitant but not panicking, "Yeah, I won the contest he had for it." She left out the part where Jagged Stone had also asked her to design his next album cover, deciding bragging wasn't a good thing. "Your Luka right?"

He nodded, still playing the calm melody, "Yup."

"Your mom asked me to get you, it's almost time for the rehearsal."

Luka stopped playing and got up, "Well I guess we better get going." He gave her a kind smile and led the way back out. Marinette followed him out, still uncertain about him.

Adrien

Normally he put up with modeling because it pleased his father, but today was not one of those days. Lila had only been there for an hour and she already made him want to go on strike. When they were posing, she always got way closer than what was necessary. The photographer had to retake multiple shots due too Adrien looking uncomfortable or in some cases straight up pulling away from her. He swore Lila even groped him at some point. And every time he did so, Lila would tear up and ask why he didn't like her. Adrien would love to do nothing more than tell to keep her hands to herself, but Natalie always pulled him aside to reprimand him.

Even now as they waited for the photographer to find his back up lenses, Lila was getting under his skin. She would not shut up about all the charities she helped with and the celebrities she had met. So many of them were obviously lies made up to try and impress him. Tuning her out, Adrien pulled out his phone and selected Marinette's contact.

Adrien: How's the band? I still stuck at a photo shoot, they brought in this girl Lila Rossi who is way too clingy. No idea why she is even here.

Lila being the nosy annoyance she is, leaned over to try and read his screen. Adrien turned it off right away, but not before she read the contact. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Her face became one of horror, "Why would you even chat with someone like her?"

Adrien raised an eyebrow at her, "What do you mean?"

"She used to go to my school and bullied everyone there," the girl cried.

Adrien opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Natalie. "Adrien, your father wishes to speak to you. Now." Adrien got up from his chair, relieved to be needed anywhere else but next to Lila. Natalie leads him away for privacy away from Lila.

Gabriel's stern face glared at him through the tablet, "Adrien, why are you being rude to the model at the shoot with you. Natalie reports you being disrespectful and have caused Ms. Rossi to cry on several occasions. Explain yourself."

Resisting the temptation to glare at Natalie for ignoring the obvious reasons, Adrien calmed his voice as much as he could. "Lila is being inappropriate onset and has tried to grope me on several occasions, so I rather not shoot with her. She makes me feel uncomfortable and doesn't seem to understand personal space."

"That is not up to you Adrien. Now get back out there and be a gentleman."

Before Adrien could respond, Gabriel cut off the connection. Natalie motioned him back to the set, "Come along, Adrien." She turned around, expecting him to follow her without a single question about it.

"No."

Marinette

As the band performed their final checks, Marinette sat back down next to Alya. The blogger eyed her curiously, "You two sure took your time."

Marinette raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" Alya rolled her eyes and gestured at Luka, who was checking his volume. "Luka? No, no, no. Nothing happened I assure you." Marinette narrowed her eyes, "Why are you so curious?"

Alya shrugged, playing it casual, "Nothing really, just thought you might be interested in Luka."

Marinette laughed, glancing at the guitarist. Luka caught her glance, giving her a small smile at his face reddened a little. "Nothing is going on between us," Marinette laughed. Alya sighed to herself in relief. Adrien already was climbing a slippery slope, he did not need the complication of Marinette having a crush on another guy.

"Alright, guys!" Rose's voice boomed through the speakers, starling the spectators. "Let's do this!" At once the band started playing, but not music like Marinette had ever heard. Then again, there were no rock songs about unicorns before.

As the band rocked away, Marinette felt her phone buzz. She smiled when she saw that the message was from Adrien, but the smile fell as she read the message, her blood freezing. Without warning, she rushed off without saying goodbye.

Alya stared after her friend while Luka walked up to her from behind. "I think she is still startled from earlier. I scared her by accident. Alya didn't reply, staring after her friend as her thoughts swirled around in her mind.

Adrien

Natalie glared at him, "What do you mean no?"

Adrien stood his ground, what I mean is I won't model with her. I will only do solo shoots from now on."

"Adrien, you don't understand. Ms. Rossi won a contest at her school, the prize being a chance to model with you."

"I never agreed to that," Adrien scowled. "And I won't cooperate with something I don't want to do." Natalie attempted to reign him under control, but Adrien spotted Marinette on the edge of the park. The young designer seemed to be looking for someone. Taking his chances that it might be him she was looking for, Adrien walked away headed towards Marinette as he ignored Natalie's protests.

Marinette didn't see Lila anywhere to her relief, worried the lying bully would spin lies around Adrien. What she didn't expect was a relieved Adrien marching out of the park straight towards her. "Hey Adrien, what happened?"

"I would love to tell you, but first we need a place to hide."

Marinette gave him a small knowing smile, "I know a place." She led him down a nearby alleyway leading to the back entrance to her parent's bakery. "It's been a while since I had to take this route. I used to take it to avoid Lila or her minions."

Adrien felt his spirits drop so that Lila girl was the one who had bullied Marinette. "That's awful, Marinette. How did no one ever notice this?"

"Lila always managed to keep her actions hidden well, until the school was completely rallied against me. Then they did almost all the work for her." They reached the back door, Marinette opened it and led him through the bakery, greeting her parent before heading upstairs.

As they settled down into her room, Adrien eyed her with concern, "What did they do? I mean if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to talk about it."

Marinette took off her jacket, setting it on her coat hanger before sitting down in her chaise, Adrien sitting in her desk chair. "It's okay, my therapist has been recommending that I open up to my friends about it." She chuckled to herself, "I didn't know this at first, but after our first week at school together, I learned that he is actually Alya's dad."

Adrien chuckled with her, "Does Alya know?"

Marinette shook her head, "I don't think so, I haven't told her and neither has her dad." She bit her lip and looked at him, eyes staring into his with a sense of trust she couldn't explain. "As for your earlier question, it started as lies and rumors. Next, my stuff would go missing, they trashed two of my sketchbooks. People would trip me in the hallways and if the teachers saw it, they would just say it was my fault for being so clumsy."

Adrien stared at her jaw dropped, "Please tell me it doesn't get worse."

Marinette gave him a sad smile, "I can't, not without lying and I prefer to leave that to Lila. Sometimes, other girls would corner me in the bathroom to harass me. Sometimes they only spoke, but other times…" Marinette sniffled, tears starting to roll down her eyes. "They would hit me, usually in places where my clothes would cover up the bruises." Marinette broke down crying, dropping her head in her hands.

A pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her close, Adrien had moved to sit next to her. As Marinette rested her head against him, Adrien swore that Lila would never touch her again. But for now, he was intent on holding her, keeping her safe as he could.

Lila

She had seen Adrien run off with Marinette, scowling. Adrien had resisted her charms and if he believes Marinette, her chances of a rich hot boyfriend were gone. Marinette was going to learn a lesson for meddling with Lila's plans.

Alya

She tried to resist, but after today Alya needed answers. She knew Marinette might never forgive her, but she opened her dad's file. Alya was not prepared for what she found: a much more graphic version of the story Marinette had told to Adrien only hours before. Tears streamed down her face as she forced herself to finish reading the whole file.


	7. Chapter 7: broken secrets

Alya

She had read everything in the file: medical reports for bruises and fractured bones, teacher's reports claiming they were not aware of anything, the principal stating they wouldn't be taking action without more witnesses, her father's notes from so many sessions Alya never knew about.

Now staring out into the rain, Alya still felt like crying all over again. No wonder Marinette had been so gun shy on the first day of school. According to her dad's notes, it was a sign of improvement that Marinette didn't have a full-on panic attack when Adrien snapped at her. Her father's advice to befriend any new students made a lot more sense now, he knew Marinette would be in Alya's class. Did he leave the file out on purpose?

As Alya watched the rain pour, she wondered what her next move was to be.

Marinette

Normally, she would cozy up at home on a rainy day, but today she was at Le Grand Paris to meet with the rock superstar Jagged Stone for his new album cover. The desk clerk offered to hang onto her umbrella for her, which she gratefully thanked her for. Jagged Stone's assistant, Penny, had told her to go to room 403 on the fourth floor.

As Marinette crossed the lobby to the elevators, Chloe observed her from the balcony above, unnoticed by the designer. Chloe had heard the designer would be visiting the hotel but never heard why she was there. She considered sending Sabrina after Marinette to spy but remembered the girl was being kept at home after the theft incident. She would have to follow Marinette herself if she wanted to get answers.

Chloe observed the elevator's floor indicator, noting it stopped on the fourth floor. Jagged Stone, XY, Clara Nightingale, and Alec Cataldi all had rooms on that floor, with most of the others unoccupied. She gave the lobby a final glance, then moved to follow her enemy. When she arrived on the fourth floor, the brat was nowhere to be seen, but a hotel worker was lugging bags down the hall. Chloe headed towards them with a sly smile.

Marinette had knocked on the door to Chloe's left only minutes before, Penny letting her in with a welcoming smile. She led the young designer around over to Jagged, who threw his arms up in an excited greeting. "Marinette love! How's my favorite Rockin roller?"

She grinned at him, his enthusiasm was contagious as always. "I am doing a lot better these days and am excited to hear your new album."

Jagged grinned at her, "Of course you are, love. Everyone is!" Marinette giggled as Penny rolled her eyes at him. Penny handed Marinette a cd labeled Rock Giant as Jagged continued, "I'm looking for something that is raw to the bone and the soul like my music. And you can smell the sweat and leather of the music just off of it!"

Marinette looked at the rocker as he spoke, nodding in understanding. Penny, noticing Jagged starting to get off track, spoke up, "That's a copy of the album that will be released. To quote Jagged, music should help inspire you."

The designer flashed her a smile, "Thanks, um, is there a restroom I could use?" Penny nodded, giving her directions to the one just down the hallway. Marinette nodded her thanks, slipping the cd into her purse securely. As she left, Bob Roth barged past her with an angry look on his face. Meanwhile, Chloe watched Marinette with narrowed eyes as the other girl walked away from her, not noticing Chloe.

Adrien

"Your behavior was unacceptable, Adrien. Ms. Rossi won the chance to model with you fairly in a contest at her school." Gabriel stood at the window with his back turned to his son, staring out into the rain.

Adrien rolled his eyes, earning a stern look from Natalie. "Keyword is chance, and she blew it harder than Chloe at the fashion ball last year. She acted inappropriate and unprofessional on set, not to mention she groped me. That last one is worth a lawsuit."

Gabriel turned around, his stern gaze on Adrien, "You will do a reshoot with her and apologize for your rudeness."

Adrien glared at him, "Were you not listening to me? She freaking groped me! I am not going anywhere near her."

"You don't have a choice, this is a matter of what is good for the company. You are the face of the brand and it is time for you to start acting like it." Gabriel narrowed his eyes at his son, "Unless you think I should revoke Ms. Rossi's prize, which in that case I will have to revoke Ms. Dupain-Cheng's prize as well." To be honest, it was a bluff on Gabriel's part. He recognized the talent in the Dupain-Cheng girl's piece and wished to get her working for him. But he also wanted to keep the Rossi girl's shoot in place, something Emilie would hate, but if Adrien agreed, then Gabriel could say their son has taken his side. Win-win if his stupid son would just fall in line.

Adrien hissed in frustration, he couldn't cause Marinette to lose her hard-earned prize because of him. His father seemed to pick up on his crush on her and was most likely hoping to use that as leverage against him to force him to do the shoot. Adrien couldn't bring himself to do a photoshoot with her mortal enemy either but knew his current options weren't exactly flexible. Gritting his teeth, Adrien bit out, "Fine, I will do the shoot with her."

Gabriel nodded his approval, "Good, Natalie will inform you when Ms. Rossi is available again."

"Actually sir," Natalie interrupted, "Ms. Rossi has informed me already she is available this afternoon." Adrien groaned quietly as Gabriel nodded his approval. "I can schedule the shoot then and have the photographers ready to go."

"Make it happen, Natalie." Gabriel turned to his son, "You will wait until then here. I expect you to be professional this time around."

"Yes, father." Before either of the two adults could say anything more to him, Adrien turned around and walked away. Good thing there wasn't a villain who used people's negative emotions to turn them into monsters like Alya's research talked about, because he was reeking of anger and frustration. He was the 'face of the brand', yet he couldn't do anything. Adrien stopped, glancing back at his father and Natalie. The face of the brand…

Adrien dashed off, a plan starting to form in his mind. He was the face of the brand and his father was going to learn what that meant the hard way.

Chloe

When the rich girl entered the bathroom, Chloe found Marinette washing her hands in the sink. "Dupain-Cheng, what do you think you are doing here?" The other girl didn't reply, looking around as if for help. To Marinette's dismay, it was just her and Chloe in the bathroom, alone together. Chloe moved closer, "Why is a peasant like you in a place meant for the rich? You are nothing but a baker's daughter!"

Marinette whimpered, backing up to the wall as her wide eyes stared at Chloe in terror. The blonde continued to stalk towards her, flashes of Lila's followers doing the same thing speeding through her mind. Her breathing increased as she trembled, unable to speak.

Chloe glared at her, "Well?! What is it baker's daughter?" Marinette fell to the floor, curling into a ball to protect herself. This is when Chloe noticed that Marinette was shaking violently as she gasped for air. "What's going on? What happened?" Chloe heard the fear in her own voice as a chill swept through her. She had never seen anyone act like this.

Behind her, the door opened as someone entered. "What happened?" Clara Nightingale gasped as she rushed over, checking Marinette. "She's having a panic attack, we need to calm her down." She held Marinette gently, "Sweetheart, it's okay. You are safe here, we are all here for you. Just try and count with me. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven." Slowly, Marinette's breathing started to calm down to a proper pace as Clara continued to count out loud with her.

Chloe backed out of the restroom as Clara asked Marinette if she needed any medication, in shock from what just happened. She had never seen anyone have a panic attack before, nor have she ever had someone react to her that way. Most of her threats or attacks didn't have that much of an effect on her other classmates. What was different about Marinette?

Penny exited Jagged Stone's room, sick of Bob Roth's attitude, and saw the shocked Chloe exiting the bathroom. A few moments later, Clara Nightingale walked a now calm Marinette out. Giving Marinette a kind smile, Penny decided to investigate what was bothering Chloe so much. "Are you okay?"

Chloe shook her head, "I yelled at her to tell me why she was here, and she just froze up. Next thing I know she is having a panic attack."

Penny's eyes widen, "Just now?" She glanced over at the elevator doors, catching a glimpse of Marinette smiling at something Clara said to her. "She seems to be calm now, Clara is good at calming people down if needed. Her brother used to have panic attacks, so she already knew what to do."

Chloe started to tear up, but this time they were real tears. "What could cause something like that?"

The assistant hesitated, knowing she was trusted with the information as part of Marinette working with Jagged. But if Chloe heard this, maybe it could cause the blonde to change her ways for the better. "Before Marinette transferred to your school, she was bullied for some time at her old school. From what I was told, it escalated pretty hard over the years to the point where she was attacked in the bathroom."

Chloe broke down. She had been bullying people for years, not caring about the results. But Marinette had been hurt much deeper than anyone Chloe had ever taunted or tricked, going into a full-on panic attack. Chloe could never actually bring herself to hit someone just because she didn't like them. She perked up again as Penny spoke again, "Not many people know about it, I know because she is working for Jagged, but he doesn't know because he can get a little overprotective. So please don't spread this to anyone else." Chloe nodded her understanding, unable to speak yet. "Thank you, I need to talk to Clara about this. It's always okay to feel regret over something Chloe, it's what you do to make up for it that counts." She left Chloe alone in the hall, heading to elevators.

A few doors down, Bob Roth angrily stormed out of Jagged Stone's room. "Fine, if you won't listen to me, then I will make this girl give my version of the cover to you."

Chloe got up and blocked him, "Go anywhere near Dupain-Cheng, and I will make sure you and your lame son XY are no longer welcomed in Paris."

Roth snorted, "And you actually think you can do that?"

Chloe shrugged, "Yep, just ask BTS. Oh, wait you can't, because they got deported." Roth glared at her, then huffed as he walked away. Chloe was surprised with herself, unsure why she just did that, but certainly didn't regret it.

Lila

"I am just so happy that Adrien came to his senses after yesterday. I can't believe Marinette kidnapped him to try to hurt your feelings." Lila smiled as one of her cronies, Ashley, swooned over how she was a victim in the situation. This time around, Lila had invited her three closest followers to watch the shoot. They had staged all the other contestants so Lila could have a chance to model with her idol and show him that she is the one for him.

"I am grateful that he agreed to it too," Lila said, her voice with a fake sweetness to make it seem like she was so overjoyed. But she knew Adrien really left because she made a few grabs at him, which only resulted in him treating her like a crazed fan. "This is a dream come true!"

But when they arrived at the studio, there was one person clearly missing. Natalie was frantically looking around while calling people. Adrien never showed up for his reshoot with Lila. As her friends started to help with the search, Lila noted the hulking bodyguard that was present last time wasn't here either. As she approached Natalie to question the fact, one of her friends, Abby, shrieked with surprise. She ran over to Lila holding out her phone, "It's Adrien! He's on KIDS+!"

Lila accepted the phone, Adrien sitting across from Nadja Chamack. "So Adrien, yesterday you bailed on a photoshoot with contest winner Lila Rossi. Do you mind explaining to our viewers what happened on set?"

Adrien flashed her his model smile, "Not at all Nadja, I was on board with the idea at first. But during the shoot, Ms. Rossi was unprofessional, attempting to grope the family jewels and other parts of my body that is inappropriate for a professional environment and without my consent. The contest rules clearly stated that she won a chance, not a guarantee. And when we went on set, she blew it so I am revoking her prize."

"This is quite shocking," Nadja confessed, "Will the Gabriel Brand be seeking a lawsuit against Lila Rossi for this?"

Adrien shook his head, "Not at this time, but if she attempts to make a move on me or continues to harass me, then legal action will be considered."

"What is the design contest winner, Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Will her award for winning the hat design be revoked as well?"

Adrien shook his head again, "No, Ms. Dupain-Cheng won her contest fair and square. Nor has she done anything to make such action necessary, I will be wearing her hat at the next show." He winked into the camera, getting a laugh out of Nadja.

Nadja looked back into the camera, "You heard it here folks, we can expect to see Adrien Agreste modeling in a fancy new hat at the next show. Now to the weather with Alec."

Lila bit back her rage as Ashley fumed behind her, "Marinette has some nerve to make Adrien lie about you like that. We will find a way to make her pay." Lila only nodded as she thought of ways to make Marinette suffer. Now that Adrien made her seem like someone who tried to harm him, his fanbase would call for her head and she didn't have control over more than a hundred of them.

Marinette

She was smiling on her way home, spirits up despite the panic attack and the still pouring rain. She was going to design the album cover for her favorite rock star and nothing could bring her down now. That's when she saw Alya huddled under the bakery's front entrance, soaking wet. As Marinette got closer, she realized the blogger was crying. Running over Marinette looked her friend over quickly, "Alya, what's wrong?!"

Alya didn't reply at first, throwing herself at Marinette, wrapping her arms around Marinette causing her to drop her umbrella. "Why didn't you tell me what happened?" she asked, her voice muffled by Marinette's coat.

Marinette was silent, not sure what Alya meant. Then it hit her, "You know?" The other girl nodded against Marinette's shoulder. "How long?" She asked, her voice quivering with fear.

"I saw the file two weeks ago but didn't read it until last night," Alya choked out. "I am so sorry for everything you had to go through. I just wish I knew sooner."

Marinette hugged her friend tightly, "You do now." They stayed there in the rain, not caring about the storm swirling around them.


	8. Chapter 8: endings and beginnings

Marinette

As the storm raged on outside, Marinette brought a pair of mugs filled with hot chocolate. Alya sat on her chaise, her coat hanging in the warm bakery below. Marinette handed her one of the mugs, then settled down in her desk chair. For a moment, neither of the two girls spoke. Then Marinette took a deep breath, "So I guess you know I see your dad for therapy?" Alya nodded silently, her eyes still red from crying. "To be honest, I never made the connection between you two until after the first week of school."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Alya choked out, "All the horrible things that you have been through." Her eyes narrowed, "I'm going to skin Adrien alive for what he did on the first day of school," she snarled, clenching her fists.

Marinette held up her hands to stop her, "He knows. I told him on the first day of school when I gave him my umbrella."

Alya's head jerked up, "You gave him your umbrella and a personal secret? And then a hoodie for his birthday, I feel so left out," Alya joked, still not quite okay. No wonder Adrien fell so hard, Alya thought to herself. Marinette had exposed her greatest flaws to him and no one else.

Marinette laughed as well, "Don't worry, I'll have something for your birthday too."

They fell silent again, sipping at their hot chocolate as they waited for the other to make the first move. Finally, Alya broke the silence again, "We never made you feel uncomfortable, did we? Or say the wrong thing?"

Marinette shook her head smiling, "It has been a dream ever since that first day. Everyone has been so kind and I never want to leave."

Alya nodded, then her brow creased again. "The other day, when we were listening to the band, you took off without telling anyone why. Where did you go? We didn't upset you, did we?"

Marinette shook her head again, "No, Adrien texted me that he was stuck in a shoot with a girl." She paused, biting her lip before continuing, "The girl he was shooting with was Lila, the girl who turned everyone against me at my old school."

Alya perked up, "Lila Rossi?"

"Ye-yeah, how did you know," Marinette asked in surprise.

"She has been trending on twitter since this afternoon." Alya pulled out her phone and showed Marinette her twitter feed. Every message had the tags 'LilaRossiDead' and 'JusticeForAdrien' in it following a very expressive message. "It's worse on the Adrien Agreste Fan page, they are actually organizing patrols to find this girl. There are a few defenders in Lila's name trying to make her look like the victim, but they are severely outnumbered and don't stand a chance against the mind of crazy fangirls. And they certainly don't like it when someone makes a move like that on their crush without his consent."

Marinette's jaw dropped, she had never seen anyone ever go after Lila like this. "How did it get out? He said I was the only one who believed him."

He went on the KIDS+ show when he was supposed to do a reshoot with her. Nino helped him get into the studio and set up the interview at the last minute." Alya shook her head, "His parents are definitely going to go at it after this." She set the phone down and looked at Marinette, "So this Lila is the same Lila who bullied you?" Marinette nodded silently. "Did Adrien know?"

"Yes, after I helped him escape yesterday, I told him everything that had happened at my old school and why I transferred." Marinette winced, adding, "Though what I told him probably wasn't as graphic as the files you read."

Alya nodded, staying silent for a moment again. Then she asked, "When are you going to tell the others?"

Marinette bit her lip again, "I'm not sure. Your dad and Adrien keep telling me to open up to others, but I am not sure how to do that yet." She looked Alya in the eyes again, "Maybe you can help me with that?"

Alya grinned, pulling her phone out again, "Just say the word and we will have an emergency girl's night. But we will have to end it early because it's a school night," she pouted as Marinette giggled. "This way you don't have to worry about eavesdroppers looking for a fresh piece of gossip." Alya looked up at Marinette, "We don't have to if you don't want to though."

"I'll go start making snacks. Put out the call, then you can come to help me in the bakery." Alya whooped at the word of treats, causing Marinette to break down laughing.

Lila

She hid in her room, her curtains closed and the phone turned off so she didn't have to see all the threats people had made. She had rushed home, trying to keep a low profile to avoid being recognized as the girl who groped Adrien Agreste. She growled as she remembered his words and that he was associated with Marinette. Marinette had almost exposed her lies before and she clearly had Adrien on her side. Lila's hands clenched into fists, maybe she had to pay the girl a visit and threaten her. Looking at the bakery visible out her window, Lila made plans to confront Marinette and make her submit once again.

She hesitantly opened the fan page, noting a new post was being shared besides the call for her blood. Adrien had posted: to show your support, please feel free to make a purchase off of the Gabriel website. It had gone viral like everything else he posted, fans reposting it to show their dedication to him. Lila growled, now they were going to profit off of her suffering? Adrien needed to be taught a lesson too it seemed.

Gabriel

The tablet slammed into the wall, the screen shattering to pieces. He stared into the hole in the drywall, dark thoughts swirling around in his brain. Adrien was an idiot, possibly doing more damage to the Gabriel brand than Gabriel could calculate. He couldn't even take away Duapin-Cheng's prize as a punishment for Adrien due to his live announcement. His desk phone rang, no doubt his lawyers wanting to hear his plans for the potential lawsuit against Lila Rossi. Gabriel groaned, Adrien may have thought he was clever, but he could not see the whole picture.

What Gabriel failed to see was Adrien's follow up post to his fan page, calling them to show support for him and his rights by buying Gabriel brand clothing off of the web store.

The following Monday 

Marinette walked to school, still exhausted from the girl's night Alya had called. Everyone was sympathetic to her story, Rose and Mylene refusing to stop hugging her tightly. Marinette was overwhelmed by the support they showed her, breaking down and crying. As they moved closer to comfort her, she reassured them that they were tears of joy and thanked them for their support.

Alix even offered to beat up Lila, with or without Marinette's blessing. It took the girls half an hour to talk the rollerblader out of it. Mylene told her it wasn't worth it, to which Alix retorted Lila deserved it even after she agreed not to go after Lila. She settled for reading the death threats posted on the Adrien Agreste fan page, reading out loud the ones she found particularly interesting. These tended to be the most violent and gruesome ones, causing Mylene and Rose to cover their ears while Juleka listened eagerly.

The girls had stayed over until dark when they had to go home, making her feel safe and secure in their group. The girls all promised her that this would stay just between them girls and the boys won't hear a breath of it. Marinette never had a group of friends like them before and hugged each of them as they left. The girls vowed once they were all out of Marinette's earshot to never let a living soul hurt Marinette ever again.

Now she was walking to school, alone for the first time in since the first week of school. Adrien had been locked up for his little stunt. He had texted her that much but had refused to give her more details. Perhaps Alya or Nino will know more. As she strode confidently down the street, she failed to see Lila walk out behind her, ready to strike at her.

Marinette felt a sense of danger she hadn't felt in a long time, the feeling that told her someone was behind her and ready to attack. Whirling around she barely had time to dodge Lila's attempt to grab her hair. The Italian girl hissed in frustration, "You lied to Adrien about me! You made him say those things about me!"

Marinette backed away from the girl, suddenly very aware of how alone she was. "He said nothing but the truth. Your lies are doomed to fall and what do you think will happen after that? Your followers will stay loyal?"

Lila snarled, "They will never find out because you are gonna do a little request for me. First, tell everyone that you lied and that you were jealous of me. Then you will tell Adrien to give me another chance and take back what he said. Then you never interfere with my plans again."

"Uh, that's three requests." The two girls turn their heads to see Chloe walking up to them.

Lila hissed at her, "Mind your own bus…" She was caught off by Chloe when she suddenly b*tch slapped her across the face, the sheer force causing Lila to lose her balance. Lila glared up at Chloe, "How dare you? You know who I am?"

"Honestly, I wouldn't care but you are this city's next addition to the banned list." Chloe smirked, "If it makes you feel better, you are right below BTS on that list. In a way, you can say you are on the same level as them, that level being Utterly Ridiculous." She turned to Marinette, "Shall we get to school?" Marinette nodded, not sure what to think of what she just witnessed, wondering if she was still in bed dreaming.

They took a few steps away from Lila, who got up and screamed at them, "Don't walk away from me, I am Lila Rossi and I will get what I want!"

Neither girl glanced back at her, focused on their walk to school as Lila fumed behind them, throwing a fit that neither of them cared enough to look at. Chloe just flicked her hair and proclaimed loudly so that Lila could hear her, "Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!"

Marinette smiled at her, still not certain what just happened, "Truly ridiculous indeed."

Adrien

Adrien hissed in frustration as he paced around his room, feeling like a lion trapped in a cage. After his stunt the other day, his father locked him down, forbidding him to step outside. His mother didn't say anything at the time, wanting to hear the facts before she argued. It was around ten in the morning that the arguing began, the noise barely making its way to his room as muffled noises.

He has been on edge since it had started and hadn't been able to settle down since. A quick text conversation with Marinette revealed all the girls knew her secret. That made him feel a little bit better that Marinette had a support group that didn't start stuttering the minute she looked at them. Adrien banged his head against his desk, he gotta figure out a way around that.

In Gabriel's office, the not so happy couple argued. "For the best of the brand, Adrien must become accustomed to more intimate shoots with female models. Ms. Rossi was intended to be an experiment to test his ability to cope with such scenarios."

"Clearly it was a bad idea," Emilie growled, "She groped my son and you won't even press charges."

"Adrien did enough harm to her by announcing to the world her actions, no doubt expecting his fanbase to take action." Gabriel glared at Emilie, "If he is going to be the face of the company, he needs to learn to be professional and put the brand first. His personal feelings are to be set aside for the sake of his image.

"Adrien doesn't even want to be a model," Emile stated frustratedly. "The minute he turns eighteen, Adrien will take his trust fund and leave the company for college or even university."

Gabriel glowered at the mention of that, something he had always dreaded to have to deal with. "Not if he realizes there is no greater responsibility then being the face of the company."

"He literally just used that fact against you!" Emilie exasperated, her arms flung out in frustration.

Gabriel was about to lash back when Natalie buzzed him. "What?"

"Sir, the website just crashed."

"What do you mean the website just crashed?" Gabriel asked, not happy with the interruption.

"Orders have been coming in since last night and eventually the whole site just crashed. We still have the orders listed from before the crash, but no one can access the site until it is recovered."

Gabriel frowned, "What caused the sudden increase in customers?"

"After the interview yesterday, Adrien went on his social media account and made a post requesting for his fans to show their support for him and his rights by going to the website and ordering something. It trended almost as fast as the call for Ms. Rossi's head."

Gabriel growled at the mention of the threats against Ms. Rossi made by his son's fanbase. He wanted to beat Adrien but his son needed to be flawless for the photoshoots. But he also has been receiving offers from companies wanting to pair his son with their female models, but half of them had backed out after seeing Adrien's interview. Gabriel received word that they considered Adrien to be unprofessional and not flexible enough to work with their models, worried he would drag their name through the mud.

Emilie simply gave him a victorious smile, "See? Some good came out of it." With that, she stepped out of the office, taking one moment to look back, "I am taking my son to school, where he wants to be. Maybe you should pull your head of your sketchbook sometime and think of his needs, not yours.

Gabriel only glared at her leaving form, remembering not for the first time that a divorce would rip his fashion empire apart and lose him his top model. He looked at the tablet Natalie had set up for him, focused on what to do next for the brand.


	9. Chapter 9: the fencer

Adrien

Adrien tugged nervously at his fencing uniform, watching as the students trying out for the fencing team were led in by Mr. D'Argencourt. With Alya's help, he had managed to convince Marinette to try out for the fencing team earlier that week, figuring nothing could wrong when trying to fence while your crush that makes you freeze up just by looking at you is there as well. Now he was searching for her among the new students as they lined up to face the experienced students. There she is, on the end with her mask up and hair braided. Marinette was looking around anxiously as if looking for someone. Adrien felt his heart beat faster as the notion that she was looking for him came to mind. Then he realized she stopped, standing across from him.

"Recruits, I only have room for one new student on the team. So in order to gauge your skill with the saber, you will face off against the experienced student across from you. Get into position." Mr. D'Argencourt signaled the experienced students to approach the recruits.

Adrien felt his heart beat faster still as he realized Marinette would be his opponent, trying to keep himself from shaking. Marinette was still looking around, "Some-someone you-you looking for?"

She gave him a sweet smile that melted his heart, not at all affected by his stuttering. "Yeah, my friend Adrien, he was the one who invited me to try out today. He's this tall, blonde, kinda cute." She gestured with her hand the height, unaware that he was Adrien.

Adrien lifted his mask, his face hot enough to start a fire. "Th-thank you!" Marinette blushed slightly, then quickly recovered as she smiled brightly. "So you ready are? I-I mean ar-are you ready?"

She nodded, opening her mouth to say something when Mr. D'Argencourt called out again, "Prepare for combat!"

Marinette looked uncertain, so Adrien walked over next to her, "Bend your knees and stretch your left foot back." He felt his face burn as he helped her move into position.

"Greet each other! Begin!" Mr. D'Argencourt called out again. Adrien took his position across from her, swinging his saber in salute. Marinette hesitated for a moment, then swung her saber in a mirrored salute, still a bit awkward. They both lowered their masks, standing in the ready position, waiting for the other to strike. After playing the RPG game with Marinette, Adrien learned she liked to stay defensive to gauge her opponent's strengths and weaknesses before committing herself to a plan of attack. So when she lunged first, Adrien was so caught off guard that he barely had a chance at dodging and parrying her attack. Marinette dropped back, carefully blocking his counter. She attacked again, this time quickly adding in a second hit he didn't expect, breaking though his guard and winning the round.

"Nice a-attack Marinette! I didn't see that coming. I ne-never knew y-you fenced be-before."

She smiled, "I actually never tried fencing before, but I have seen you fence a couple of times when I stay after school." Adrien flushed at the revelation that Marinette had been watching him fence, glad his mask was still down to hide his embarrassment from her. "I have seen a few of your moves then, your attacks, counters. You are actually pretty amazing at this."

Adrien swore everyone could hear his heart pounding, Marinette just called him amazing. "Than-thank you! Shall we go again?" Marinette nodded, shifting into the ready position again. Adrien shifted into the ready position, this time preparing to lunge first when an unfamiliar voice called out from the school entrance.

"Hey, you!" Everyone's attention shifted to a red-clad fencer standing on the steps, a saber with a red hilt in their hands. "Are you Mr. D'Argencourt, the fencing master? I want to join your team."

"If you know who I am, then you would know only the best get accepted here, you naive child!" the fencing teacher exclaimed.

"And I was the best everywhere I went," the mysterious fencer countered.

"Ah, so this young whippersnapper has some nerve, don't you. Perhaps you could join my team if you best one of my students in combat first."

The fencer strode forward confidently, looking over the group, "Who is the best among you?"

The experienced fencers moved out of Adrien's way, who raised his mask as he eyed the newcomer. Mr. D'Argencourt smiled, "Excellent! Adrien, please teach this naive fool a lesson in manners."

Adrien nodded as he approached, "Of course, master." As he approached the newcomer, he saw Marinette lift her mask in the corner of his eye, a look of concern on her face. He gave her a reassuring smile before lowering his mask again. Facing an unknown opponent while your crush was watching? What's the worst that could happen? The mysterious fencer suddenly performed several complex moves, doing a backflip in the process. Yep, he was going to die.

Nino

"Cut!" Everyone groaned as Nino walked up to Chloe for the fourteenth time that morning. "Chloe, you need to follow the script and pay attention to when it's your cue."

The blonde flicked her ponytail over, not affected at all by everyone's annoyance. Despite her change of heart and being kinder to everyone, Chloe was still Chloe. "But I am perfect the way I am!"

Nino took a deep breath while Alya got everyone back into positions. "The point of this is you are pretending to be another character. That's what acting is all about." He gestured to the script he was holding, "If we can make this work, we will have a shot at winning the short film contest."

Chloe sighed, "Fine, I will be the shy artist girl, but do you really expect Nathaniel to pull off the handsome musician who steals the artist's heart?" Nino opened his mouth to deny the accusation but shut it as he realized she may be onto something. Nathaniel was yet to be shot on camera and had been stumbling over his lines.

He gestured for everyone to take a break and went to talk to Nathaniel with Alix, hoping that he improved his confidence. Meanwhile, a handsome musician with a guitar slung around his back happened to walk in. "Hey guys," Luka greeted.

Alya gave him a welcoming smile, "Hey Luka, what brings you here?"

"Juleka told me that you guys were shooting a film here at the museum and I figured I stop by," he said, looking around for someone.

Alya frowned, whoever he was looking for, it wasn't Juleka because she was right in front of him giving Chloe's makeup and costume a check over. "Who are you looking for?"

Luka blushed as he stuffed his hands in his pockets nervously. "I was hoping to see Marinette again," he confessed, glancing around for the young designer. Alya narrowed her eyes at him, considering his intentions. Luka was expressing interest in Marinette just like Adrien, but his reasons weren't as known as Adrien's. Marinette was already with Adrien at fencing tryouts thanks to Alya's input and she wasn't just going to let Luka barge in and steal her away from Adrien.

"She said she was busy today, but didn't tell us what."

Chloe opened her mouth to correct her but shut it as she realized Alya's intentions. Then she had a sinister smirk on her face, "Hey you! Guitar boy!" Luka turned to face her, unsure how to respond. "You ever act? We need a musician to make me fall madly in love with him for our movie."

Luka tried to open his mouth to state that he rather find the girl that he really wanted to fall for him, but Alya jumped aboard Chloe's train of thought, "OOOHHHH, I like this idea. Here take this script, you are 'Jake', the guitarist who fell for 'Mary' the cute art girl played by Chloe. I'll go tell Nino!" She rushed over to the next exhibit, where Alix and Nino were doing their best to calm Nathaniel from his nervous breakdown.

Luka groaned, looking at the script, "I really have something else I need to do."

Chloe snorted while Juleka gave him a sympathetic smile, "But if you do this, you will save the movie!" Luka groaned, looking at the script. He had spent the past week writing a song just for Marinette and wanted to sing it to her, but now he was stuck with this. A perfect waste of a Saturday.

Adrien

He stood across from his opponent, ready for the next round. After two rounds ending in a tie, the challenger requested they unhook from the machine so they would have greater freedom of movement. Adrien agreed, eager to see what this fencer was really capable of. In the corner of his eye, Adrien saw Marinette looking at him with concern as she bit her lower lip. His opponent lunged, making him step back as they swung aggressively at him. They launched a series of lightning-fast attacks, keeping him on the defense as he was driven back.

Suddenly, his opponent dashed forward, shoulder checking him back. Adrien hit the light post, barely able to sidestep out of the way of their follow up lunge. He backed up the staircase, staying on the defensive as they went up the steps. Adrien attempted to get the high ground, but the fencer noted this and used the railing to launch herself over and behind him. She clashed her saber against his, pinning him against the railing, "Is that the best you can do?" Adrien shoved her back, retreating up the next set of stairs leading to the library.

Marinette glanced nervously at Mr. D'Argencourt, "Is this what fencing really is?"

He grinned, caught up in the thrill of such a tight match, "Yes, my dear. This is truly what fencing is all about! We must observe the fateful moment!" He attempted to follow the duelists up the stairs, only to be trampled by the students eager to keep watching the fight. Marinette dashed up the other stairs, worried for Adrien's safety.

The dueling fencers clashed sabers in front of the library doors, Marinette watching with concern from the other staircase. Adrien saw her and froze at the sight of her concerned blue eyes. So blue. The distraction cost him, the fencer shoulder checking him through the library doors. Adrien struggled to get some space, kicking a book cart at the fencer. The fencer simply jumped over the cart, lunging at Adrien again.

Mr. D'Argencourt had managed to get to the doors, only to be hit by the heavy cart. Marinette peered into the room, just in time to see the mysterious fencer kick another cart over, pinning Adrien underneath it. The fencer tapped him with their saber, ending the match. "You fought well Agreste, I hope we can duel again." They left to approach the still stunned fencing teacher, while Marinette rushed in to help Adrien.

She helped him push the heavy cart off, looking him over for injuries. "Adrien, are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?"

Adrien was too surprised by her concern to feel the pain in his right foot or the sting of defeat, only able to stare into her wide blue eyes. She started to freak out, shaking him gently to get him out of any shock he was feeling. Adrien shook himself out of his daze, "I'm okay, I think." Marinette bit her lip again as she helped him try to stand up. She looks so cute when she is worried, Adrien thought to himself. That is when a sharp pain cut through his right ankle, causing him to yelp in pain.

Marinette's eyes widened in fear as she helped him sit down again, "Give me a minute to grab the first aid kit." She rushed off to the librarian's desk, leaving Adrien in a dreamy gaze as he watched her run off.

Mr. D'Argencourt faced off the fencer, "Those were some serious moves back there, though if you are going to join this team, you can't cause any more injuries like this." The fencer nodded their acceptance. "Well then, welcome to the team. What is your name?"

"Tsurugi, Kagami Tsurugi." The fencer removed their mask, revealing her true identity. "I am honored to join your team." She looked back at Adrien, "And I will do my best to avoid hurting others in the future." She left to join the other students below while the instructor went to check on Adrien.

Marinette had retrieved the first aid kit and was wrapping up Adrien's foot with care, stopping every time he winced to make sure he was okay. Her concern was going to kill him at this rate, his face red with embarrassment. Finishing, she helped him up, "Come on. I'll help you get to your car and your driver can take you to the hospital." Adrien silently nodded, not trusting himself to speak coherently around her. The instructor nodded his approval, instructing a student to take their fencing gear for them and helped Marinette get Adrien to his car.

Once he was in the car, the instructor left to dismiss the students trying out and start the practice. As Adrien settled into the car, he looked back at Marinette, "Could you maybe come with me please?" He panicked as he realized his request, blushing harder somehow as he sputtered out, "I-I mean i-if you want to-oo?"

Marinette gave him a kind understanding smile, "Sure Adrien, if you need a friend to be there with you, I'll be there for you." As she went around to the other side where the Gorilla was opening the door for her, Adrien groaned. He didn't want to be just friends.


	10. Chapter 10: the secret starving

Adrien

He winced as the doctor probed his ankle, wishing he didn't after seeing Marinette's reaction. She insisted on coming with him to the hospital, not buying his claims that he would be okay. Not that he didn't mind that she was worried about him, he just hated seeing her worried. "Well Mr. Agreste, it appears to be a fracture. I'll have to give you a brace that you can't take off for the next two weeks. No fencing or modeling, too much physical activity might damage it more and only make the problem worse."

Adrien tried not to stare at Marinette as she bit her lip, staring at him with wide eyed concern. She looked at the doctor and asked him, "Is there some kind of doctor's order you can give him so he isn't forced into anything?"

The doctor gave her an inquisitive look, then remembering his patient's identity he reassured her, "I will give him a doctor's order to rest. Anyone who forces him to break this order, even his father, will be fined and potentially arrested depending on the circumstances." Adrien swallowed as Marinette sighed in relief, knowing his father would not be pleased with this. Fencing was the one thing he liked to do that his father allowed him to do, not being harmful to his company's key assets. Now that Adrien got hurt during it, his father would ban it from his schedule for good, winning his mother's agreement by preying on her concern for her son.

Adrien realized that the doctor was still talking, so he turned his attention back to him. "You seem to be severely malnourished. Are you being served a specific diet?"

Adrien swallowed, feeling Marinette's concern washing over him as he answered, "Yes, my father hired a dietitian to figure out my needs to stay thin for modeling."

He winced as Marinette's frown deepened, the doctor consulting his sheet. "Well I am going to have to overrule this dietitian because you are not getting properly fed. You need to have three full meals a day no matter what your father says. This is a very serious matter and I will be scheduling you for regular check ups." He grinned at the two teenagers, adding, "That shouldn't be a problem with your recently cleared schedule. Just make sure you eat full meals."

Marinette stared at Adrien intently, sending a chill down his spine. "Don't worry, Doctor. He will be taken care of." Adrien swallowed nervously, fearing the oncoming storm.

Emelie

She stormed into Gabriel's office, doctor's notice in hand. "How long have you been starving our son?"

Father of the year looked up from his tablet, not happy to be disturbed from his work. Gabriel was already trying to find a model to replace Adrien for the shoots he was now unable to do. On top of the fractured ankle, the doctor had sent the notice of Adrien being under fed and the demand for increased medical check ups. Gabriel was now at risk by potential discovery that his bribing of the family doctor and dietitian could be uncovered and possibly send him to prison. "He was being sufficiently fed to keep his required form."

Emelie snorted, holding out her own copy of the doctors report for him to see. "It's a miracle he is even standing. Why should he have to pay the price for your ambitions?" she asked, shaking her head. "Adrien is at the point where if you let him eat properly and keep up his current physical exercise, he would develop a much healthier body while still being attractive to his fangirls."

Gabriel frowned, his eyebrows scrunching together as he replied, "Adrien must be kept thin in order to keep up with my brand. He changes and we risk the brand going under."

"A risk you have been toying with since his first photoshoot." Emelie threw her hands in the air, completely done with her husband. "He used to love photoshoots, but with all the restrictions you have forced upon him Adrien has grown to despise it. He can't go in public without wearing a disguise and then you make him do a shoot with a rabid fangirl."

"Said rabid fangirl's mother has sent us a lawsuit due to Adrien turning his fanbase against her," Gabriel growled.

"After she sexually assaulted him and you tried to force him into another shoot with her after he said no. You even had the nerve to use his crush on that sweet girl against him." Emelie glared at him, pointing her finger at him as she hissed out, "If you dare try to force him to continue the shoots and dieting, I will personally drop off all this information on Nadja Chamack's desk."

Gabriel glared back at her, growling out, "You wouldn't dare. If this company falls, what would you do? My brand pays for your vacations and your expensive shopping trips."

Emelie smirked at him. "And clearly you fail to remember who's family fortune funded your ambitions," she retorted as she turned to leave his office. She looked back at him one more time. "Treat our son properly Gabriel, as a father should. Or have you forgotten how to be a father when you were busy playing bureaucrat?" Without waiting for his response, Emelie left his office, leaving Gabriel alone to replan his business strategy.

Luka

This was extremely frustrating. He had come to the school in hopes of finding Marinette. Instead, he was pushed into acting out the role he wanted to actually be doing: making the cute art girl fall for him. The biggest problem he found was that Chloe was no Marinette, not even close. Juleka had mentioned she had been improving lately, but he couldn't care less. The brat was still a brat and if it wasn't Juleka asking for help he would have left long ago. For now, he simply had to suck it up and deal with it.

As he was reading his script for the next scene, Luka noticed Alya look at her phone and wave Nino over. Listening closely, he could only make out the words: Fencing, Adrien, hurt, Marinette. His blood froze, did this Adrien hurt Marinette? What was he still doing here? He should have been out looking for her.

"Hey dudes," Nino called out. "Just heard from Marinette that Adrien got hurt in a fencing accident. They're at the hospital and while he is going to be okay, he is being severely underfed according to the doctor. So from now on, we are going to sneak him as much food as we possibly can." Nino scowled as he continued, "His old man isn't going to change his diet, so we will for him." As everyone else seemed to chatter concerned for Adrien's health, Luka was more concerned that Marinette was with him, possibly worrying over him.

Despite his request to be allowed to leave, Alya kept denying him, stating that they were over halfway done with the film and it was too late to recast his character. Doing his best to look like he was enthusiastic about the acting.

But when the final scene to shoot came in, Luka put his foot down. "No absolutely not!"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Jeez, curb your enthusiasm," she muttered sarcastically.

"Come on guys, just one quick peck and you're finished. This is the last scene we have to do," Nino insisted.

"There is only one girl I will kiss and it is not her." Luka didn't feel like playing nice anymore, he had priorities and this was not one.

Alya stepped in to offer a solution, "What if you just kiss her on the cheek? No lip on lip contact, is that better for you?"

Luka sighed, "Fine." It was the worst thing that he ever had to do, Chloe had at least five layers of makeup caked on her face. He did his best not to run to the bathroom to wash his mouth out.

When he came back, the members of Kitty Section were waiting for him when he came back. "Hey Luka! Now that we are done with the movie, we can go rehearse. Are you in?"

He groaned inside, there was no way he could refuse to rehearse. If the band had the time, they should make the most of it. As he followed them out, he heard Alya talking to Nino, "Marinette's birthday is in a month and we need to nail this party. She never had a party, just family visiting." Nino nodded, saying something Luka couldn't quite make out, but that didn't matter to him. Marinette's birthday presented an opportunity to spread out his heart before her. Then perhaps she would give him a chance to go on a date. Once that rehearsal was over, he had a love song to write.

DJWifi

Once Kitty Section had left, Alya gave Nino a worried look. "Luka came here searching for Marinette, could he possibly have a crush on her?"

Nino frowned. "Dunno, but if he does that means Adrien has competition."

"He already does, Nathaniel still has a crush on her."

"Who?"

Alya shook her head at him. "The former lead in your movie. Seriously how do you manage without me?"

Nino nodded, absently looking around them. "Um, where is he?" Alya frowned and looked around, just realizing for herself that she hadn't seen Nathaniel since Luka showed up.

Adrien

They were on their way to drop Marinette off when he decided to break the awkward silence. Marinette left the office for a moment to call her parents, leaving him with the doctor checking over his ankle once more. She had been silent since the moment he crutched out of the office, keeping an eye on him as she typed away at her phone. No doubt texting Alya and Nino. Now she sat next to him, not saying a word as she eyed his encased foot. "I gue-ess that you wo-won't be joining the fencing team?"

Marinette gave him a sad smile. "I'm not experienced enough anyways, your team would have a better chance with that other girl, Kagami, joining. She was incredible." She saw his expression drop, quickly adding, "Although that move with the library cart was pretty dirty." She frowned at his foot for a moment before getting serious again. "How long have you been under fed?"

"I wo-wouldn't sa-say I'm under fe-fed."

She glared at him, her gaze a mix of determination and concern. "Cut the crap. How long?"

Adrien looked out the window, unable to look her in the eye. "Almost two years now," he mumbled, barely loud enough to be heard.

Marinette silently processed this information, looking intently at her phone in her hands. "How bad has it been?" Adrien didn't respond, looking at something very interesting in the palm of his left hand. "Adrien, what happened?" Marinette then noticed what was so interesting in his hand: A long scar that could easily be hidden by makeup. After the doctor told her that he was under fed, Marinette had searched online symptoms, trying to connect them to his behaviour since she first met him. One symptom was that injuries would take longer to heal.

Adrien realized she noticed it and quickly tried to turn over his palm, hoping to avoid talking about it. But Marinette was faster, grabbing his wrist. "How long did you have this scar?"

"A fe-few weeks." He shrugged as he attempted to assure her, "It was just a minor scratch."

Marinette frowned, "Adrien, this is not okay. What else do I not know about? And if you don't tell me, I will interrogate Alya and Nino." Adrien opened and closed his mouth, unsure how to react. Thankfully, his bodyguard chose this moment to open the door for Marinette. He just realized then that they were parked in front of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. She glared at him, warning him in a sharp tone, "This is not over."

Adrien waved goodbye, sagging in relief as the door closed. To his surprise, his bodyguard followed her into the bakery, exiting a few moments later with a heavy looking bag and a smaller one ment for treats. Getting in the car, Gorilla turned and deposited the larger bag on the seat in front of Adrien. "Extra food, the nice girl says to tell you to eat a proper amount of food." Adrien shuddered in fear, realizing he was about to see a side of Marinette he hadn't seen yet. He wondered if he would survive the experience.

Gorilla simply drove with a smile on his face, spirits lifted by the presence of someone who truly cares for Adrien. And the delicious treats she offered from the bakery as a bribe for his help.


	11. Chapter 11:regroup and counter

Adrien

The Gorilla helped Adrien out of the car and escorted him into the school as Adrien krutched up the front steps. Nino and Alya were waiting for him just inside the front entrance, but no one else was in the courtyard. Gorilla nodded at Adrien and headed back to the car. "Thanks!" Adrien called after the massive man before turning to his friends. "Where's Marinette? She told me to meet her here early."

Alya nodded her head with a wide smile on her face, still unable to comprehend the young fashion designer's determination. Marinette had shown up carrying a bag that no one her size should ever be able to lift on their own. "Marinette is already in the classroom. She wanted to wait out here for you with us, but we made her take a break."

While Alya was talking, Nino took Adrien's bag from him. "Hey, I can still carry that," Adrien insisted.

Nino shook his head. "No way, dude. Marinette told me you are not allowed to carry your bag or do anything that puts a strain on you. Something tells me she will not react well if she sees you doing anything physical."

Alya nodded in agreement, a smirk forming on her face. "Your crush seems pretty concerned for you, Adrien. Maybe she is returning your feelings at long last?" Adrien blushed as he headed up the stairs, taking it slow with his crutches.

Once they got to the top, Adrien stopped them. "Can you guys find out when her birthday is?"

Alya nodded, "Yeah, why?"

"I wanna throw a party. I mean obviously I'll need you guys and the rest of the class to help, but she deserves it."

"You're damn right she does," Alya agreed. "Everyone will be climbing over each other to pitch in."

"And you will have the best DJ in the house for this occasion," Nino assured him.

"Thanks, guys. I guess we better not keep her waiting any longer." Adrien turned to keep going up the stairs.

"Hey Adrien, how much would it take to give your dietitian a heart attack?" Alya asked as they were almost at the classroom doors.

Adrien shrugged, "Not much. If I am a pound too heavy, he freaks out. Why?"

"He is a dead man if he ever meets Marinette. Nino and I have a bet on whether she will kill him or give him a heart attack," Alya explained. Adrien laughed, thinking they were just joking around. That is, until he saw the amount of food Marinette had brought for his breakfast. It completely covered the desk he shared with Nino, with some containers placed on Marinette and Alya's desk to make more room for food.

Adrien opened his mouth to voice his refusal, but the determination in Marinette's eyes killed any fight in him. Some fights were simply not worth fighting, he decided as she beamed brighty at him.

Lila

Lila pulled the hoodie farther over her head as she let her gaze wander around the coffee shop. It was the first time she had left home in a few days, passing the time by reading fanfics on Archive of Our Own and trolling authors for the fun of it. A few of her followers agreed to meet her during lunchtime to give any information they might have managed to gather. Hopefully, Lila would be able to come up with a plan to counter the recent events.

The door opened and in stepped Terra, one of her closest followers, with a concerned look on her face. Lila looked behind her, expecting more of her followers to enter, but no one else came. "Where is everyone else?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Terra flashed her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but we thought it best if only one of us went. Most of the school thinks you are the devil, so we didn't want someone to find you and for you to get mobbed again."

Lila gave her a fake expression of gratitude, inwardly seething at the fact that she wasn't one to reaffirm her friends' trust in her all at once. Now, she had to pray that no one was considering leaving her side. "That's so thoughtful, though it would be nice to see everyone together again."

Terra nodded understandingly as the barista brought their drinks over, offering to pay since Lila had so much _uncalled for drama _lately. "We all miss you too, but want to make sure you stay safe." Her expression became more serious as she continued, "My friend at Dupont messaged me yesterday."

Lila froze for a moment, fearing the worst that Terra may have come alone to confront her without the others to interfere. Then she remembered meeting Terra's friend and how they adored her, no sob story from Marinette would change her mind. "And what did they say?"

"It's exactly as you said," Terra growled. "Marinette has all the girls wrapped around her finger, telling them all that you bullied and tormented her."

Lila sighed dramatically as she looked down at her hot chocolate, "If only they knew the truth about her."

Terra cleared her throat, "There is one mistake she made though: she only told the girls in her homeroom and Adrien. Only eight people actually know her side of the story."

Lila's eyes brightened, a small smile forming. "That's good. We can still stop her from hurting any more people."

Terra nodded eagerly, a smile of her own that mirrored Lila's forming. "That's not all, there are two other people who might be able to help us as well."

Lila leaned forward curiously, "Who?"

"Well one of them is this homeschool kid, plays the guitar and has a bit of a Jagged Stone thing going on. He seems extremely interested in Marinette for some reason," she mused, her brows pressing together has if she was mentally debating the reason for the guitarist's weird behaviour. "If he wasn't so interested in Marinette, I would even suggest he be a nice boyfriend for you since Adrien was horrible to you." She hissed in frustration at the memory to Lila's glee.

Lila nodded in agreement, already thinking of ways she could manipulate this boy. "We might be able to show him the truth yet before Marinette turns her sob story on him." She looked back at Terra, asking, "Who was the other person?"

Terra shuddered slightly, "The other person is a new girl and she seems a bit hot headed. She straight up flipped one of those heavy library carts on Adrien in a fencing duel."

Lila frowned, struggling to recall what she knew about the sport. "What was a library cart doing in the middle of a dueling arena?"

"It wasn't in the dueling arena, they were dueling in the library. The duel moved across the school and from what I heard, she is vicious. She even injured Adrien in the process." Terra squeezed her cup tightly, adding nervously, "She might be too much of a wild card to be helpful to us"

Lila nodded, musing the story in her head. An unpredictable wild card might be just what she needs to topple Marinette and put herself back in the spotlight. "What is this girl's name? I want to meet her for myself."

Terra gave her a bewildered look, then shrugged. "If you're sure, but it's your funeral. Her name is Kagami Tsurugi."

Lila smiled, "Thank you for updating me. Please let me know right away if anything else happens, be it Marinette or this guitar boy." Giving Terra a little wave, Lila left the cafe with a wicked grin on her face. She was gonna make Marinette's life hell all over again.

Marinette

As she swapped out her books for the next class, Marinette did not see a solemn Chloe walk up behind her in the locker room. The blonde waited patiently for Marinette to close her door before speaking to her. "Hey, Marinette? Can I talk to you for a second?" Chloe's eyes darted around the room rapidly as she added, "in private?"

Marinette gave her a kind, but cautious smile. "Sure, I think there is a classroom empty over her." Chloe nodded and followed her, wringing her hands nervously. Once they were alone in the room, Marinette turned her gaze back over to Chloe. "What's up?"

Chloe took a deep breath, having never done something like this and was uncertain about what to say. Then everything came out like water bursting out of a broken dam. "I'm sorry for trying to steal your designs for the hat competition. And for tricking you into stealing Adrien's seat. And that thing with the gum…"

"Wait," Marinette cut her off. "That was you? How did you even figure out to get the gum to launch at my face when I opened my locker door?"

"I'm Chloe, just accept it. The point is I'm sorry for all the mean and horrible things I have done to you," Chloe said earnestly. She looked at Marinette with pleading eyes, asking, "Will you please forgive me?"

Marinette took a moment to process what just happened, then stated firmly, "I will forgive you Chloe, but first you must apologize to everyone else in the school that you have bullied and harassed. You don't have to list everything, just say that you are sorry."

Chloe frowned, then sighed as she nodded her head in agreement. "Okay, though it may take a long time. And this doesn't mean I'm gonna completely change the way I act though."

Marinette gave her an understanding smile, reassuring her, "I don't expect you to completely change the way you act, just try to be a little bit nicer to everyone." Marinette frowned for a moment, than added, "Especially Sabrina."

Chloe gave her a shocked look. "Sabrina? What do you mean? She is my best friend!"

"And you treat her like a servant, getting her to steal for you and, I heard she does all your homework as well." Chloe looked at the ground, clearly ashamed over her actions. "Just please try."

Marinette exited the classroom, immediately running into a concerned Alya. "Girl, are you okay? Rose said she saw you head off with Chloe. What's going on?"

Marinette laughed, answering, "You won't believe it until you see it."

Alya gave her a curious look, wondering if the girl had finally gone bonkers. "If you say so then. What's your plan for lunch?"

Marinette gave Alya a wide smile, "I'm gonna let my parents feed Adrien. If you thought I went overboard this morning, wait until you see what they come up with." She snickered, "Can't force him to model when he is fat." Marinette walked off, followed by a bewildered Alya.

Emilie

Emilie was leaving the warehouse being set up for the new charity event she and her associates were hosting when the text message buzzed on her phone. She pulled out her phone and sighed when she saw the contact name: Carlessa Rossi.

Carlessa Rossi: _What the hell? I thought we were all on the same team!_

Emilie Agreste: _Carlessa, what happened is out of my hands. Your daughter didn't behave professionally and my son acted on his own accord. Maybe if you took the time to discipline your child, neither of you would be in this mess. And I wouldn't be so eager to scream after your child mentally damaged our most valuable asset._

Carlessa Rossi: _That doesn't make what happened acceptable._

Emilie Agreste: _Tell your daughter to play nicely and be obedient. I'll take care of Adrien. Don't be late to the meeting tomorrow night. We have important business to discuss about Project Mayura._

Emilie turned off her phone and put it away as the car pulled back in the Agreste Mansion. She needed to prepare the library for her guests the next evening. And a distraction for her fool of a husband that will keep him and his nosy assistant. Gabriel must never know of Project Mayura or the truth about Adrien, no matter how much of his money got funneled into the project. Some things required a woman's touch.


	12. Chapter 12: Game Night

Marinette

Marinette looked around nervously as Alya led her up to the forest green house. "Are you sure it's going to be okay? What if they don't want me here?"

Alya raised her eyebrow at her, an amused expression on her face. "Girl, are you for real? Everyone loves you, why wouldn't they want you here?"

"I have never been to a party before," Marinette admitted. "At least not a high school party. I went to a few birthday parties, but that was years ago." She sighed, looking down at the ground as she added, "They were pranks though, but I fell for it for too long until I learned the truth."

Alya put her arm around Marinette and pulled her close comfortingly. "Girl, I'm so sorry that those things happened to you. But that was then and they can't hurt you anymore. Everyone here is on your side and wants to be your friend." She grinned brightly at Marinette, adding, "Chloe even attacked one of your old bullies if I recall correctly, something she never has done for any one of us."

Marinette let out a small smile, "I guess you have a point there." Alya continued to beam as she lead Marinette around the house and into the backyard. Marinette gave her a confused look as she realized they weren't headed inside of the house. "Where are we going? Isn't the party in the house?"

Alya laughed gently at her clueless friend. "Girl, you clearly never heard of the parties Max hosts. They are way too loud for the house, so his mom makes us use their garage for our gaming nights."

"Gaming nights?" Marinette asked, still confused. Alya simply smirked as she opened the door to the garage, motioning for Marinette to head inside. Marinette walked through the door into a large dark room lit only by a projector and the computer it was hooked up to it. Marinette could hear cheering as she walked in the dark room. Then she saw her entire homeroom gathered on a set of couches, cheering on two people sitting in bean bags in front of them closest to the screen.

Adrien was in the left bean bag, Kim opposite of him leaning forwards as he smashed random buttons on his controller. Looking at the screen, Marinette recognized the game as Ultra Mecha Strike 3, a robot fighting game that was extremely popular but she hadn't been able to try it out at all yet. She watched the cat and monkey robots fighting on the screen. Well fighting was putting it nicely; the monkey robot was flailing around wildly while the cat robot stayed back and only attacked when there was an opening. Barely two minutes after Marinette arrived, the screen announced Adrien as the winner. He grinned as everyone cheered, shaking Kim's hand in celebration. To Marinette's surprise, Kim didn't seem frustrated or angry that he lost so badly in front of everyone, loudly proclaiming that he will get Adrien next time.

Adrien laughed and turned around, his grin only growing when he saw Marinette standing by the door. His face seemed to turn a strange shade of red as he waved over to her. "Hey, Mari! You made it!" Immediately, everyone turned their attention to her, Marinette bracing herself for the incoming ridicules.

But they never came at her. "Hey dudette!" Nino called out, giving her a grin as he pointed at the screen. "Wanna play a round?" Everyone else immediately started to call out to her, offering greetings and challenging her to a match.

Marinette stood there speechless, completely frozen by their open displays of friendship. She wasn't used to any of this level of kindness. Thankfully, Alya stepped in, raising her hands in the air to take their attention away from Marinette. "How about instead of crowding the poor girl, one of you challenges me instead?" She strode confidently over to where Adrien was sitting and held her hand out for his controller. He eagerly handed it over and all but bolted over to where Marinette was at the back of the room.

Alya resisted the urge to shake her head at the two lovable pair, waiting for a challenger to approach her. One did, taking Kim's controller from him and shooing him out of the bean bag. Alya raised an eyebrow at Chloe, who simply selected the bee robot without even glancing at Alya. "Never took you for the gaming type, Chloe," Alya noted, curious as to why the blonde stepped forward.

The blonde shrugged as she slouched back into the bean bag. "You guys never invited me to a game night before," Chloe pointed out, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for Alya to select her robot.

Alya smirked and selected the fox robot, replying, "It's on then, queenie." Chloe ignored the old nickname the class used whenever she got too big for her britches, narrowing her eyes at the screen.

"On like Donkey Kong!" Nino piped in, eager to cheer his girlfriend on.

Mere moments later, everyone stared in shock as Chloe's bee robot stood undamaged while Alya's lay smoking and broken into little pieces on the battleground. Chloe simply stood up and faced the shocked crowd of spectators. "Who's next?" she asked, seemingly unphased as if nothing out of the ordinary has just happened.

Multiple match ups went by before it came down to Adrien and Max going head to head. The class suddenly seemed to move around as if everyone was cheering on a certain player, taking up a spot on either side of the room behind their chosen champion. Nathaniel, Alix and Kim stood right behind Max, each of them eagerly gripping the back of Max's chair. Marinette smiled in amusement as she moved to sit right behind Adrien, next to Alya and Nino on a couch.

The fight was the longest of the night, starting with Adrien and Max feigning attacks to try and bait the other. Finally the bots clashed, unleashing combos on each other as they danced around the game. Marinette watched every move, each press of a button intently. The battle was dragged out until finally, Max grinned and unleashed a wicked combo on Adrien's bot, destroying it.

People let out a cheer as Max jumped up and threw his hands in the air, grinning widely. Adrien shook his head grinning as he got up and reached his hand out to shake Max's. "Congrats, that was a wicked combo at the end there."

Max shrugged carelessly, "A simple combo really, not that someone like you would understand it." A ripple of amusement shifted through the crowd, everyone curious to see who made the next move. When someone did, it was the last person they expected.

"Why are you being so rude to him? Its just a game." Everyone turned their attention to Marinette, who was glaring at Max, furious. No one had ever seen her like this before, staring in awe as an enraged Marinette stalked ove to Max and stared him down. "You think you're so good? Let's see you take me on then!" She turned around and reached out for Adrien's controller.

Adrien was barely able to hand over the controller, turning into a stuttering blushing mess as he moved out of the bean bag for her. He sat down in Marinette's spot next to Alya and Nino, who gave him knowing smirks. They nudged him teasingly, but Adrien ignored them as he watched Marinette intently.

Marinette made her way through all the bots until she found the one on the bottom of the list: the Ladybug robot. Max simply smirked as he selected the Ultra Mecha he had been using, doing a few poses to show off in an attempt to make her nervous. "Don't think I'll go easy on you since you are new."

But Marinette was too occupied with something else, understanding the game. Even though she never played the game before, she was seeing all the possible moves she could make. It was just like when she tried out for fencing, first watching Adrien do the moves, then repeating them nearly perfectly. In just two seconds, Marinette hit seven buttons with precision, her Ladybug bot executing a similar flashy move. Everyone edged closer as Max for a moment seemed to be nervous.

Both of them immediately focused their concentration on the game as the final countdown sounded, the call to battle silencing the room. Max immediately moved to attack, hoping for a quick victory. But Marinette was ready for him, dodging Max and hitting him back with a near perfect combo. As their classmates cheered Marinette on, Max managed to pull his bot back, avoiding another attack from Marinette. He adopted a defensive stance, hoping to get her to attack him again.

But she calmly waited on her side of the arena, not even moving to a blocking position. Max took the chance and lunged forwards with a heavy attack. As the bot moved across the screen, Max's expression changed from one of triumph to one of shock as Marinette blocked his attack perfectly. She promptly hit him with combo after combo, not giving Max a moment to recover.

The class cheered as for the first time in the history of game nights, Max has been defeated. Marinette found herself lifted in the air by Kim as everyone else congratulated her. Well almost everyone else.

"Get out." Everyone went quiet at the sharp angry tone of Max's voice. He was still facing the screen, his controller clutched tightly in his hand as his body shook with rage.

Alix started towards him, "Max, its just a game."

"I SAID EVERYONE GET OUT!" Max shouted, throwing the controller at them. With a few grumbles, everyone left the garage and headed home.

Marinette found herself guided by Alya over to Adrien's car, where Adrien and Nino were waiting for them. "What was that all about?" she asked them as they climbed inside the car.

"The dude is obsessed with gaming. He is constantly training for gaming competitions and trying out for teams. That's why he hosts these game nights, so he can train against real people," Nino explained as they drove away.

Alya nodded agreement with him, adding in, "No one has ever beaten him before tonight. I'm guessing that he has grown used to winning so much that he can't stand the idea of losing."

Adrien and Nino nodded in agreement, both having seen Max grow more and more cocky with each passing game night. "You w-were awesome in there, Marinette," Adrien said, stammering out the compliment. "I didn't know you played the game."

"That was actually my first time playing," Marinette admitted sheepishly, looking down as she did.

All three of her friends' jaws dropped. "What?" Alya exclaimed, nearly elbowing Nino in the face as she burst forwards to stare Marinette in the eyes. "Girl, are you serious? Don't tell Max that, that would probably make his mood worse. Chances are he will be over it by tomorrow." Marinette nodded, looking out the window as she wondered how she could be so good at the game just by watching it.

Max

Max was definitely not over what happened last night. He had spent the rest of the night looking up cheats that Marinette might have used during the match, but came up with nothing. He couldn't even find a match on record that had a defeat that brutal. The only explanation that was left was that he was a failure.

Max sulked the entire day at school, ignoring his classmates the entire day. Everyone seemed to decide to give him a wide berth, staying away from him, but Max knew they were talking and probably laughing behind his back about last night.

When Max was grabbing his books for the final period, he found a sticky note inside of his locker. Max read the note, _If you want to learn the truth about Marinette Dupain-Cheng, meet me at the cafe near the old bookstore. _Max frowned, wondering what he doesn't know about Marinette, but decided to check it out after his robotics club. Perhaps it had something to do with her win last night.

Well, club isn't the correct term. The only member was Max and he had the whole lab to himself at all times. Except today, someone else was waiting for him there: Marinette. She raised a hand up nervously. "Hey."

Max grunted, avoiding her as he moved to the bench he was working at last time and pulled out the gripper mechanism. He had been having trouble getting it to work and was planning on figuring out what was wrong with it. Max started to look it over as Marinette walked up behind him, still trying to talk to him. "Look, I'm sorry about last night at your party, I don't know how I beat you, it was just instinct. I never even played before."

Max felt the hairs on the back stand up as he processed what she just said. _She never played before? Then how did she beat him with no experience? She had to be using some sort of cheat then. _Pissed off even more, Max stormed off across the lab, ignoring Marinette as he went. She didn't try to follow him or say anything to his relief.

After a few minutes of dead silence, Max grew suspicious and turned around. Marinette was hunched over the table he had been originally working at, her hands moving around wildly. He walked over to find that she had the gripper mechanism completely disassembled and was putting it back together with a few changes. Max watched in awe as Marinette finished reassembling the gripper and tested it, the gripper grabbing the pop can firmly.

"How did you do that?" Max asked her, his anger long forgotten.

Marinette looked at him confused, admitting, "I don't know."

Lila

Lila frowned as she read the text from her spy stating that Max didn't show up to their meeting and that they couldn't find him. She groaned putting her phone down as she looked around. Max would have made an interesting addition to her team, but he wasn't an original part of her plan anyways. Lila knew other classmates would drift away sooner or later and she would be able to turn them against Marinette. She was currently out to meet one such classmate.

Lila spotted her quarry and quickly stepped out to intercept them. "Hey, Kagami! Do you have a second? I am a big fan of yours!"

Emilie

She was on her way to another one of her charities she uses to keep her husband from suspecting her special activities when the update came in.

**Mendeleiev: **_The girl is showing the advanced intellect we have been looking for. She just assembled a robotic gripper with no instructions or experience._

Emilie smiled, glad that they were finally going to reach this stage despite the setback Lila Rossi had caused. Perhaps the therapy and student support group they planted the girl in was working better then she expected.

**Emilie: **_Excellent. Keep a close eye on her progress. I'll start preparing the special room for her to help her keep progressing._

Emilie grinned as she put the phone down, feeling excited for the next stage. Now to ensure Lila Rossi doesn't interfere once again.


	13. Chapter 13: Annoucement

Hey everyone! after some careful consideration, I have decided to no longer be posting new stories or new chapter updates on .

I will continue posting fanfic on Archive of Our Own, where I already have several stories that are not on . AO3 is a much better posting platform and allows me to tag my stories more accurately and organize series I currently have and ones yet to be posted. I will still reply to the odd message here, but will be posting on AO3 while linking my fics on the Miraculous Fanworks Discord server, my tumblr page and the sub reddit for Miraculous fanfictions.

I have tried to link my AO3 profile here, but this site only allows links to itself and Youtube, but you can seach Shattered_Heartless on AO3 or anyone of my stories and you will find my profile, as well as links in all of my stories various Miraculous fandom communities. Feel free to DM if you have any issues.

Hope to see you all over on AO3!


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